Pepper & Kale Panzanella Salad is a light yet filling salad loaded with homemade bread cubes, sauteed pepper & kale, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, pickled onions and basil.
Panzanella salad is by far my favorite kind of salad. I like to make homemade croutons when making panzanella, it only takes a few minutes and makes a huge difference in the salad. I like to use a hearty bread like sourdough, or a multi-grain bread, cut it into cubes and then saute the cubes in olive oil over medium high heat for a few minutes.
I saute the peppers and kale for this salad. Sauteing the peppers brings out the sweetness in them while sauteing the kale softens it. Add to the peppers & kale some sweet cherry tomatoes, salty feta cheese, pickled onions and basil and you have a great base for this salad. Add to salad a greek yogurt based dressing with vinegar and honey and you have a very tasty panzanella salad that you will fall in love with.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- For the pickled onions:
- 1 sweet onion, walla walla or vidalia, sliced into thin moon shapes
- Apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. sugar
- For the salad:
- 4-5 cups cubed bread, I used sourdough
- Salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 2 sweet peppers, cut into large chunks
- 2-3 cups kale sliced into thin strips
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 – ½ cups fresh mozzarella, cut into chunks
- ½ cup pickled onions
- 8-10 large basil leaves, chiffonade
- For the dressing:
- 4 tbsp. plain greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 ½ tbsp. vinegar, I used Cranberry Pear, balsamic is fine also
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2 pinches of salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
Instructions
- For the pickled onions: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.
- In a large saucepan, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and turn the heat on medium. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with a pinch of salt & pepper. Saute for 5 minutes, making sure to toss a couple of times. Set the bread cubes aside. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp. of olive oil and add the peppers and kale. Saute for 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Mix the dressing: add the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, pickled onions, basil to a large bowl. Add in the bread cubes and pepper/kale mix. Toss everything together. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
Notes
Adapted from Love & Lemons.