It started with a visit to Zero Zero Pizza with some girlfriends over the holidays. I saw their menu listing for a Winter Panzanella and it made immediate sense to me. No matter that I’ve never tried a regular ‘ol spring or mid-summer or autumn panzanella, and we didn’t order Zero Zero’s that afternoon either. It was enough to get my wheels turning. (I admit part of the appeal is being able to say the word “panzanella” over and over.)
A few days later and with a New Year’s Eve potluck dinner a couple hours around the corner, Kevin and I mostly winged it. As in: Kevin did the bulk of the work while I shouted out guidance from the Internet. Making dishes up on the fly and testing them out on a group of mostly strangers? Ina Garten would probably not approve. But she did teach me the basics of a standard panzanella.
If I were to recreate this, this is what I’d do: chop up a hefty butternut squash into one-inch cubes, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and a tablespoon of brown sugar. Throw it in the oven set at 400 degrees for an hour, tossing at the halfway point. A half hour into it, put a pan of chopped crimini mushrooms into the oven to roast on another rack. Fifteen minutes before the butternut squash are done, throw a handful of dried cranberries onto the pan and return to the oven. Borrow Amardeep’s lovely Le Creuset to toast one-inch cubes of rustic bread. Bread cubes toasted on a medium-low fire with a little olive oil, salt and pepper in that perfectly regulated heat, even with meh meh bread from Trader Joe’s, will be so good you’ll be plucking them out of the pot to pop in your mouth before they make it into the bowl.
Remove everything from the heat and let it all come to room temperature. Continue to resist the pull of the bread cubes. Lightly mix the squash+cranberries, mushrooms, a couple generous handfuls of arugula, and some torn up fresh mozzarella in a large bowl. Lightly dress with a citrus vinaigrette (olive oil, orange juice, a couple splashes of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and finely minced garlic), and just before you’re ready to serve, throw in those bread cubes and give it another good toss. Dip a spare bread cube in some leftover vinaigrette and snack away, because you and your sweetheart have earned it. Serve!