Recipe: Cornbread Panzanella Salad

Few things hit the spot like a great salad on a hot August day. One of our favorite summer salads has already been perfected by not one, but two chefs in Great Barrington — Daire Rooney of the Mezze Restaurant Group and Steve Browning at Prairie Whale. They have different approaches to the dish, but our reaction is always the same; when we see a panzanella salad on either of their menus, we just have to order it.

But sometimes you just want to stay in and make your own, right? Luckily, with panzanella, you can’t go wrong. Just grab a few fresh ingredients, throw ‘em together and you’ve got a bright and satisfying classic summer side dish.


This salad is simple, but also highly adaptable. Don’t like cucumbers? Leave them out. Have some beautiful sweet peppers? Toss them in. Whether you’re picnicking at Tanglewood, dropping by a summer potluck, or just feeling lazy, this salad promises to deliver.

Cornbread Panzanella Salad

+ 4 generous cups of cornbread, cut into 1 inch cubes
+ 2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes, chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
+ 1 fresh tropea onion, minced or 1 shallot, peeled and minced
+ 1 or 2 cucumbers, sliced and chopped
+ 5 tablespoons olive oil
+ Sea salt (something flaky like Maldon is best)
+ Frreshly ground pepper
+ 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
+ 4-5 oz. good mozzarella, chopped into ½-inch pieces
+ 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped

1. Lay the cornbread cubes out on a baking sheet and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil on top. Toss until the pieces are generally covered, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bake in a 400° oven for 10 minutes, gently stirring once or twice, until toasted.
2. In a large serving bowl, mix the tomatoes, onions or shallots, cucumbers, vinegar, remaining olive oil, and cheese. Add cornbread cubes and mozzarella, some salt and pepper, and toss.
3. Let sit for 20 minutes or so, then serve.

Note: This recipe originally appeared on RuralIntelligence.com on August 10, 2015. It's been back-dated here on our blog so that it falls, seasonally, in the right place. 

Recipe: Spicy Cucumber Gazpacho

Taking stock of our terrace harvest the other night we realized there was a glut of cucumbers and jalapenos. Silka turned to one of our favorite recipe selection techniques, which is to Google the ingredients on hand and see what comes up. This time we clicked on a recipe for spicy cucumber gazpacho. We were initially hesitant because, as a good friend once said, "gazpacho is just blended salad." But there was no cooking involved and we were feeling lazy, so we thought we'd go for it.

Are we glad we did! On top of it's brilliant color, the soup was unbelievably refreshing and had the perfect amount of spice. Plus it was super light, so we didn't feel too bad about polishing off a whole batch in one go. 

Spicy Cucumber Gazpacho
Adapted from The Luna Cafe

+ 2 English cucumbers, peeled and chopped (4 cups chopped) - we used Kirby, and it was still great!
+ 1 green bell pepper, chopped
+ 3 green onions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
+ 2 jalapeno chiles, halved lengthwise and seeded
+ small handful Italian parsley
+ small handful spearmint or lemon verbena leaves
+ 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
+ ½ cup chicken stock, or water, plus a little extra just in case
+ ¼ cup olive oil
+ 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
+ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
+ several drops of Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
+ 1 teaspoon salt

The original recipe offers directions for a garnish, but we like to forgo the decoration and start eating as soon as possible.

1. Put the cucumber, bell pepper, green onions, jalapeno chiles, parsley, spearmint or lemon verbena, and garlic into a blender and liquefy.
2. Add the stock, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, Tabasco, and salt. Pulse to combine.
3. Taste and adjust the balance of salt and lemon juice if needed.
4. Adjust the thickness of the soup by adding a little more chicken stock if needed.
5. Chill for at least two hours.
6. Just before serving, pour the soup into individual cups. Top each serving with a tiny sprig of spearmint or lemon verbena.

Makes 2 quarts; serves 6.