Asparagus Panzanella

Serves 4 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes

I love taking familiar dishes and switching ingredients. Panzanella infamous bread and tomato salad. Asparagus is a great seasonal swap.

Ingredients

For the croutons:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 cups day-old bread, crust removed, cubed
6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the vinaigrette:
Half a red onion, finely diced
2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons champagne or white wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

For the salad:
4 large leeks, roots trimmed and dark green parts removed
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound asparagus, woody stems trimmed and cut into 1-½ inch pieces

Any chopped fresh herbs if you have like basil, parsley or dill

1 19-ounce can of white beans, rinsed and drained or 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans

Chef Tips

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix the bread cubes with the garlic, olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss to coat well. Transfer bread to a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake stirring once or twice, until the croutons are crisp and lightly colored on the outside but still soft within, about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Step 2

Mix the red onion with the vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside for a few minutes; This helps ‘cook’ the onions for a less raw bit before whisking in the remaining vinaigrette ingredients: olive oil and dijon. Set aside.

Step 4

Cut off dark green tops of leeks and trim root ends. Halve each leek lengthwise to within 2 inches of root end. Rinse well under cold running water to wash away sand. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Cover leeks with cold water in a 12-inch heavy skillet. Add salt and simmer leeks, uncovered, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 5

Without draining the cooking water (you will reuse it for the asparagus), transfer leeks to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then pat the leeks dry with paper towels. Break off tough ends of asparagus and cook it in the boiling water until crisp-tender, no more than three minutes if they’re pencil-thin, more if your asparagus is thicker. Transfer it to another bowl of ice water, drain and pat it dry.

Step 6

Place pieces in a large bowl and mix in beans and cooled parmesan croutons. Pour vinaigrette over and toss well. Season with salt and pepper.