This Winter Panzanella is my seasonal twist on the classic Italian bread salad, traditionally made with ripe summer tomatoes, onions and fresh basil. In this version, hearty winter vegetables and robust flavors take center stage, creating a dish that is both comforting and satisfying during the colder months.
With a mix of roasted root vegetables, toasted bread cubes, bitter salads variety and tangy vinaigrette dressing, Winter Panzanella is a delicious way to enjoy the flavors of the season in a vibrant and nutritious salad.
Why you will love this recipe
-A triumphant flavors combinations: radicchio gives the bitter taste, fennel adds some freshness, oranges provide the citrusy flavor, radish a little bit of spices. The rape give some herbaceous taste.
-A combination of texture: crunch from the crusty bread, radish, fennels and tender from the roasted rapes and oranges.
-It is a great salad to absorb all nutrients of winter vegetables, while you wait summer to make Panzanella Salad Recipe
Winter Panzanella Ingredients:
Radicchio – probably my favorite winter vegetables- is the salad I grew up with. My nonna was used to prepare for me a big bowl of it, simply dressed with EVOO, salt and vinegar. So satisfying! My grandpa instead was using radicchio to top its pasta and fagioli. My favorite recipe has always been the one my dad was making in special occasions: quickly cooked radicchio with olive oil, vinegar and balck pepper, a crunchy side dish ideal as a side for Italian meat recipes.
But what is radicchio? Radicchio is a form of leaf chicory, grown as a leaf vegetable and usually has colorful, white-veined red leaves that form a head. Its taste that mellows if it is grilled or roasted, when raw it has a very distinct bitter and spicy taste.
For this salad I used a combination of Pink Radicchio from Gorizia, Radichio di Catslefranco and a radicchio di Chioggia. Radicchio is rich in iron and antioxidants.
Fennel: Typical of the Mediterranean area, usually grows close to riverbanks. Over the years it has increased its popularity. Mildly diuretic, it has digestive properties.
Radish: It is a flowering plant in the mustard family of Brassicaceae. Its root is commonly used, although the entire plant is edible and its leaves are sometimes used as a leaf vegetable.
Beetroot: is a root veegetables, rich in antioxidants and popular in Italy usually eaten boiled along with potatoes and dressed with garlic and oil. In this salad I roasted it to emphasize its herbaceous flavor.
Oranges: best when eaten in peak season, they are rich in Vitamin C. I used Cara Cara variety as it is sweeter.
Red Onions: to add more crunch.
Dressing is made with EVOO, Dijon mustard, orange juice, salt, vinegar and chives.
Bread: I chose sourdough bread. In this case I toasted it. You can also use 2-3 days old bread. It will soften once added to the salad by absorbing the dressing.
A little bit more about Radicchio varieties
The varieties of radicchio are named after the Italian regions where they originate: the most widely available variety in the United States is radicchio di Chioggia, the most popular and widely used variety. The area for Chioggia includes just ten towns from the boroughs of Venice (where one finds Chioggia itself), Padua, and Rovigo.
Radicchio rosso di Treviso precoce is a longer head than Chioggia, and the white veins are more pronounced. It has a distinctive bitter taste, and it is typical of 24 towns in the Veneto area.
Other varieties include ‘Tardivo’; Treviso tardivo is considered the king of radicchio in Italy. There are strict regulations on the length and appearance of the root left on the head. Radicchio tardivo is crunchy and bitter and is usually eaten cooked.
The radicchio di Castelfranco both resemble flowers, and Castelfranco is very different in appearance to the other radicchio types with creamy, light green leaves and deep red speckles. It has a sweeter flavor than the other varieties. The most prestigious of all variety is Rosa di Gorizia, a town in Friuli, where this variety is available only a few weeks a year.
How to make the perfect Winter Panzanella Salad
Start by preparing the beet. Switch on the oven at 300° F (180° C). Wrap the beet in aluminum foil and bake it for 45 minutes until a tootpick can pierce the vegetable with no resistance.
In the mean time start preparing your veggies: roughly chop the radicchio, slice finely the fennel and the radish. Peel the orange, remove the skin, and cut the slices in half.
Chop the red onions thinly.
Make the dressing by whisking together salt, pepper, vinegar, EVOO, Dijon mustard and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Toast the sourdough bread and cut It in squares of half inch length.
Remove the beet from the oven, peel it and chop it.
Now take a plate: add the radicchio, fennel, radish, oranges, onions, bread and the dressing. Mixed everything and serve it!
More Delicious Recipes for you
Roasted Beetroot Pumpkin and Lentil Salad
Colorful Orange, Fennel & Beet Salad
Artichoke Salad: a bright side dish
Winter Kale Salad with Farro, Pecorino & Date
What to serve with Winter Panzanella Salad
This salad is quite robust on its own, so it could be a great vegetarian/ vegan meal. If you would like you can add some beans or chickpeas to make it more complete.
Another alternative is to serve it with a side of grilled chicken or a flank steak.
Storing suggestions for the Winter Panzanella Salad
I am a great supporter of eating the salad as soon as it is made to get all the fresh nutrients and to avoid the leaf to wilt too much. You can prepare the ingredients a few hours ahead and assemble it before serving and before adding the bread and the dressing.
The dressing can be stored in a jat at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Substitutions suggestions for the Winter Panzanella Salad
You can replace radicchio with kale, or spinach. I recommend a stalky, bitter and crunchy winter vegetables.
Golden beets can be replaced by red beet. Instead of oranges you can use apple cider vinegar.
If you do not like onions, replace them with shallots, more delicate.
Please let me know in the comments how you like this Winter Panzanella Salad, and if you make it please leave a star rating! I would really love to hear from you!
Ingredients
SALAD
- ½ pound radicchio
- 3 oz radish
- 8 oz oranges
- ⅓ pound beets
- 6 oz fennel
- 3 oz onions red
- 6 oz bread
DRESSING
- 4 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp orange squeezed
- 2 tbsp chives
- 2 tsp mustard dijon
Instructions
- Start by preparing the beet. Switch on the oven at 300° F (180° C). Wrap the beet in aluminum foil and bake it for 45 minutes until a tootpick can pierce the vegetable with no resistance.
- In the mean time start preparing your veggies: roughly chop the radicchio, slice finely the fennel and the radish. Peel the orange, remove the skin, and cut the slices in half.
- Chop the red onions thinly.
- Make the dressing by whisking together salt, pepper, vinegar, EVOO, Dijon mustard, chives and freshly squeezed orange juice.
- Toast the sourdough bread and cut It in squares of half inch length.
- Remove the beet from the oven, peel it and chop it.
- Now take a plate: add the radicchio, fennel, radish, oranges, onions, bread and the dressing. Mixed everything and serve it!
Nutrition
Recipe card powered by WP Recipe Maker.
