Panzanella Salad with Chicken & Mozzarella

Bread salad?! Yes please! Here's a modern version of the traditional Italian salad: Panzanella. We added some mozzarella and chicken for extra yumm!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Prep Time 0 minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes

0 minutes

Total Time 28 minutes

Servings

Calories 746kcal

Author Marcie & Julie

Ingredients

2 Tablespoon salt (divided)
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 small lemon, zested & juiced
1 clove garlic, minced or zested
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 loaf of any rustic bread (but not sourdough)
¼ cup olive oil (divided)
cooking spray
3 heirloom tomatoes, cut into thick slices
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, peeled & chopped
1 cup fresh basil, cut into strips
6 ounce mozzarella balls, ciliegine
3 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Set oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine 1 ½ t of the salt, Italian seasoning, lemon zest and garlic. Place chicken in medium bowl and sprinkle mixture on top. Toss and set aside.
Cut loaf into 1" cubes (makes ~ 3 cups of bread cubes). Put cubes in a large bowl. Drizzle lemon juice, ½ of the olive oil, and ½ t of the salt over bread. Mix together with your hands, kind of sponging it together. Place bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, max. Bread should be toasted but not dried through.
Meanwhile, coat a grill pan with cooking spray, using a basting brush to spread it, and heat on medium. Once hot, lay chicken on pan and cook for 10 minutes, flipping over several times. Remove chicken from heat, and once cooled, cut into strips.
Plate the salad individually: 2-4 tomato slices, topped with a few slices of red onion, some cucumber, strips of basil, croutons, and mozzarella. Mix together the balsamic vinegar and the other ½ of the olive oil. Drizzle roughly 2 t of that mix over each plate (4 plates total).

Notes

Plate the salad individually: 2-4 tomato slices, topped with a few slices of red onion, some cucumber, strips of basil, croutons, and mozzarella. Drizzle 2 t of the oil-vinegar mix atop.

We recommend that young children have milk with all their meals.

Nutrition