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Summer Panzanella (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Dried cubes of bread are tossed with chopped summer veggies, herbs, lemon juice, and olive oil for a quick and easy salad. This vegan and gluten free summer panzanella is a great way to use up stale bread!

As the temperatures rise my overall time spent cooking in the kitchen decreases. I gravitate towards dishes that require little prep but pack plenty of bold flavor. Good thing a lot of summer produce is just as delicious raw! This panzanella is essentially a salad with big croutons (or chunks of stale bread). It’s packed with flavorful summer produce like cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet bell peppers. And, you don’t have to turn on the oven to make it!

What is Panzanella?

Panzanella originated in the Italian regions of Tuscany and Umbria. Traditionally, it was made with stale bread that had been soaked in water, then squeezed of excess moisture. The “re-hydrated” bread was then tossed with vinegar and chopped vegetables like onion and tomato. It’s common to often see cucumbers and herbs in the mix. In my version, the stale bread isn’t soaked first so it can soak up the olive oil, lemon juice, and juice from the tomatoes. The bread is paired with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, mint, and chives.

Summer Panzanella

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5 from 1 review

Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

3 cups cubed stale bread**
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup chopped sweet peppers
1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used chives and mint)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

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Instructions

To assemble the salad, toss the bread with the veggies, herbs, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. The longer the salad sits the more liquid the bread will absorb so keep that in mind when preparing and serving.

Makes 4-6 side servings.

Notes

**if your bread isn’t stale, no worries! You can cut or rip it into bite-sized pieces and leave it out on a baking tray overnight. Or, if you want to use your oven, you can dry the bread out at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
I used purple bell peppers as my “sweet peppers” for the panzanella you see pictured here. They made for a beautifully colored salad!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Category: salad

Raspberry Rose Sorbet (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Rose lends a lovely floral note to this tart and sweet raspberry sorbet. This vegan and gluten free sorbet can be made in an ice cream maker or poured into popsicle molds.

I discovered in the last week or so that I feel guilty when I don’t do what I think I should be doing, or rather, what societal norms dictate I should be doing. It’s the kind of thing that’s easy to spot once you say it out loud to someone or talk it through afterwards, but when you’re in the thick of it, you have blinders on. I bring this up because I realized that I was making myself feel guilty for taking time to rest and recover after what was essentially surgery last week.

In an unexpected turn of events last Monday, I ended up having a wonky looking mole excised and biopsied. Except, it wasn’t just the mole they removed, but a giant chunk out of my arm. I went into the appointment thinking they’d scoop out the mole like I’d had done before on that same exact spot and instead came out with a dent in my left arm and a stitched up incision about 3 inches long. Whoa. I was fine through the whole procedure, even after being able to see the inside of my arm, but it wasn’t until the doctor told me to take it easy and not put much muscular effort into my left arm that I was like uhhh do what now? Though I love choosing to take it easy on my own, being told to do so just doesn’t land the same way.

So here we are, a week later, and I’ve been taking it easy. Though reluctant at first, I soon gave in when I started feeling a dull throbbing pain in my arm. It was most likely my body’s way of saying “hey dummy!” so I listened. And slowed down the pace. Except when it got towards the end of last week, I began to feel guilty. To be honest I felt like a lazy slob. Like I should have powered through and not used my arm as an “excuse”. But once I said all of this out loud, it immediately sounded ridiculous. Of course I needed rest after losing a piece of my damn arm! So, all of this is to say, stop making yourself feel guilty. For whatever reason, just stop. It will only end up negatively effecting your body and will put you in a foul mood. You’ve got better things to do in life than give yourself guilt, like making this sorbet!

Like that segue I just made, hah! But seriously, it’s hot out and you can always use a little pick-me-up stashed in the freezer. This sorbet is inspired by one I had out recently. I loved the floral and tart contrast of roses and raspberries paired together so I decided to make my own version at home. Plus, raspberries are high in antioxidants that help you fight off disease and aging. Basically I’m giving you the fountain of youth in sorbet form. Just kidding…or am I?

Raspberry Rose Sorbet

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No reviews

Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Rose lends a lovely floral note to this tart and sweet raspberry sorbet. This vegan and gluten free sorbet can be made in an ice cream maker or poured into popsicle molds.

Ingredients

6–8 tbsp honey or maple syrup (this will depend on the sweetness of your raspberries)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup dried rose petals
2 cups raspberries
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp plain vodka or rum (to prevent the formation of ice crystals)

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Instructions

Taste your raspberries. If they are more on the tart side, use 8 tbsp (1/2 cup) of honey or maple syrup. If they are sweeter, you may only want to use 6 tbsp. Put the honey, water, and roses in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 5 minutes, then remove it from the heat, cover it, and allow the syrup to steep for 5-10 more minutes.

Strain the syrup into a blender and add the berries, lemon juice, and vodka. Blend until smooth. If you want, you can strain out the raspberry seeds for a smoother sorbet. Chill the sorbet base for 4 hours in your fridge.

Once the base has fully chilled, process it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the finished sorbet in an airtight container and store it in the freezer.

Makes about 3 cups of sorbet.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chilling Time: 4 hours
Category: dessert