Southern Panzanella Salad

The word is ‘bread salad’.  Inclusive of greens and such.  Present with many a chunk of bread – of any sort – in this case CORNBREAD.  

This dish is somewhere between a cold salad and a warm side.  It’s rare that I crave a lettuce-y  salad this time of year.  If it’s not roasted in some form… let’s just not.  I’ve found that this warm-ish salad meets all of my chilly weather needs with the added bonus of  an aggressive amount of toasted cornbread.

It’s roasted and toasted and pickled with a touch of sweetness and a few welcome beans. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• cornbread and let me tell you, as a person that deeply loves cornbread, I deeply love JIFFY cornbread – the little blue box makes a perfect cornbread to cube and toast.  
• black eyed peas, a can is easiest, drained and rinsed.
• andouille sausage, diced to bite-size. (Totally skip this if you want to keep things strictly veggie.) 
• pickled onions.  They’re good on everything and I think they should always be in the fridge!
• a mountain of kale leaves
• a delicata squash because you can eat both the outsides and insides.
• a handful of shredded cheese – a soft mild cheddar would be chill. 

Start by browning the andouille and garlic.  If andouille isn’t your thing, skip it and just shimmer the garlic up with some hot oil.  

To the browned andouille we’ll add the greens.  A little at a time until they’ve sautéed down to a reasonable place in the pan.  Not completely wilted but tamed to manageable.  

Add the beans to warm those little buddies.  A little heat will soften the texture to even creamier and help meld the flavors. 

Remove the mixture from the heat – not from the pan – just from the heat.  It’ll stay warm enough to introduce and lightly melt the cheese. 

Add the roasted and cooled delicata squash pieces.

If you weren’t able to find a delicata – and squash pieces, peeled and roasted will be just a delight! 

Cornbread – fresh baked from the box, cubed, and toasted in the oven until the outside is crisp and the inside is still cake tender. 

Top with pickled onions for bite and honestly, a pop of magenta color. 

Top with an easy vinaigrette that consists of things you mostly have like: dijon, oil, lemon, parsley, maybe capers, maybe a shallow, and a dash of honey.  

Allow the dressing to soak the greens, soak into the cornbread, and top the squash.  It’s amiable and brings all the flavors together. 

Serve just warmer than room temperature and relish in the fact that cornbread, when combined with greens can TOTALLY be salad and that panzanella, though Italian, can TOTALLY be finagled into a sweet souther salad side.  Now we’ve really done it. 

Southern Panzanella Salad

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Ingredients

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• For the Salad:
• 1 (8.5 ounce) box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, prepared as a cornbread
• 1 delicata squash, left unpeeled, sliced in half and seeds removed, sliced into 1/2-inch half circles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup diced andouille sausage
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (about heaping tablespoon)
• 6 heaping cups kale leaves, chopped to bite size
• 1 (15 ounce) can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup pickled red onions
• For the Dressing:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoon minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. This salad requires a bit of prep. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to to 375 degrees F. Start by baking the cornbread in a 8 or 9-inch square baking pan according to the box instructions. Allow the cornbread to cool completely and cut the cornbread into 1-inch cubes. Spread the cubes in a single layer across a parchment lined baking sheet.
2. Toast the cornbread cubes until lightly golden, flip the cubes around the pan and toast again. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in a bowl.
3. Placed the sliced delicata squash pieces onto the parchment lined sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake the squash pieces until sizzling, lightly golden around the edges, and fork tender. The time will vary depending on how thick your slices are. About 20 – 25 minutes in the oven should do! Remove once tender and allow to cool.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook to browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute more.
5. Add the kale leaves and toss around the skillet until the leaves begin to wilt and make room in the pan.
6. Add the drained beans and toss until warmed through – about 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat.
7. Stir in the grated cheese. Add the roasted squash and toasted cornbread. Toss to combine.
8. Whisk together the dressing ingredients until well combined and emulsified. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Top with pickled red onions. Enjoy slightly warm or at room temperature.
9. This salad is best enjoyed the day it is made!