White Bean Panzanella

I just love this white bean panzanella.  It uses the tomatoes and basil that are fresh in my garden right now and leftover bread making not only delicious but also quite inexpensive.   I chose to add beans for protein since I was making it for dinner for me and my vegetarian son, which made it a great no cook summer entree.  I used whole wheat bakery French bread leftover from the night before, but you can use any day old crusty bread – Italian, sour dough, etc.  And, if you don’t have any day old bread around, you can toast a little fresh bread to dry it out a bit.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

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White Bean Panzanella

Prep 40 mins

Cook 10 mins

Total 50 mins

Author Michelle Hilton

Yield 4

Ingredients

• 3 cups cubed good quality day old bread
• 3 tbsps. olive oil divided
• 3 tomatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2 cups cooked cannellini beans (white kidney beans) – about 1 14 oz. can rinsed and drained
• 1 Tbsp. country dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil over medium in a large skillet.
2. Stirring and tossing to coat well in the oil, saute bread until golden brown and toasty.
3. In a large bowl, stir together bread, tomatoes, basil, and beans.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining tablespoon of olive oil, vinegar, and garlic. Pour over bread mixture and toss to coat.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Refrigerate covered for 1/2 hour before serving to give the flavors time to develop and the bread time to soften.

Courses Entree

Cuisine Italian