autumn panzanella

It is a common custom among cultures to invent recipes that use up stale bread and it makes complete sense. There is no waste of old bread that has lost its freshness and a new recipe is developed.

Panzanella is the Italian version of using up old bread in a salad and it usually uses spring or summer vegetables.  I wanted to reinvent the salad using autumn produce because, well, tis the season.

I made use of cauliflower, carrots, chickpeas, whole grain bead (I'm working on a whole grain refrigerator dough, so I had a loaf hanging around), parsley and scallions.

You could, of course, use whatever vegetables you have lurking in the back of your fridge and no one would be the wiser. That's part of the beauty of panzanella salads.

Roast the cauliflower, chickpeas and bread in the oven and then throw it all into a large bowl. Toss with Italian dressing and you are in the money.

The question then becomes, which Italian dressing is the best for this salad? Mine, of course! Kittee Berns of Cake Maker to the Stars (with the cutest blog *ever* and the best Ethiopian cookbook *ever*) is sharing my recipe from Aquafaba [Amazon, B&N, Book Depository]. Go get it! I promise, it is worth it!

That's all there is to this one. Lunch or dinner is served. 

Autumn Panzanella
Serves 4

6 tablespoons Italian Dressing (this one from Aquafaba is amazing!), divided
1 cup cooked chickpeas
3 cups cubed bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
Sea salt and black pepper

4 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
2 medium carrots, julienned
4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped fine

1. Add 1 tablespoon dressing to a small bowl and toss with the chickpeas. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Transfer the beans to a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, stirring often. 
2. Move the beans to a quarter of the baking sheet and add the bread cubes to half of the sheet. Add the cauliflower to the remaining section and season with salt and black pepper. Continue to bake the beans and bread for another 25 minutes, until the beans are lightly crunchy, the cauliflower is golden and tender and the bread is dried out.
3. Transfer the bread to a small bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the dressing and set aside for 5 minutes. 
4. Add the lettuce, carrots, scallions, parsley, chickpeas, bread, cauliflower and the rest of the dressing to a large bowl. Toss well, season with salt and black pepper and serve. 




© 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

PIN IT! 

seitan shawirma

Before we get into this recipe, which happens to be an authentic Middle Eastern shawirma sandwich (based on Holy Land's recipe - which, unfortunately, uses animals), that features seitan marinated in spiced yogurt sauce before air-frying to perfection,

I want to formally announce the release my newest cookbook, Aquafaba [Amazon, B&N, Book Depository]. This book is all about making and utilizing bean water to make formerly egg-based creations, such as macarons, burgers, whipped topping, ice creams and dozens of other sweet and savory items.

A few noteworthy sites to visit:

To find the table of contents of Aquafaba, go HERE.
To find the blog tour for Aquafaba, go HERE.

Back to the wrap:

As I said above, this is a marinated seitan sandwich, but, of course, with my twist on it; I added air-fried potatoes, and, of course, the requisite pickles. You can jazz this up even more by adding lettuce, tomatoes and hot sauce.

To begin with, make the yogurt-based marinade and let your seitan sit for however long you like. Minimum is 30 minutes, but overnight is just fine. You can even use chickpeas in this recipe or just in the marinade - it makes terrific roasted chickpeas, which you can just eat alone or toss into wraps (like this one) or on salads.

When you are ready, just drain the seitan and air-fry it. If you don't have an air-fryer then bake it or saute it, but the air-fryer puts a nice crust on the seitan without drying it out.

Although I grouped the seitan pictures together (marinating the seitan and cooking it), because it makes sense visually, when it comes time to actually cook it (and you are using an air-fryer; if baking you can bake them at the same time), fry the potatoes first because they take longer. Just keep them warm.

The marinade acts as double duty. Once it is drained, mix it with the rest of the yogurt and season with salt and pepper. No waste and no extra sauce assembly required.

I love shawarma prepared in any way and this shawirma recipe is unique because of the marinade. It is a bit easier than other shawarma recipes and comes with a built in sauce. Not to mention delicious.

Seitan Shawirma 
Serves 4

Marinade:
1/4 cup unsweetened plain nondairy yogurt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon vegan worcestershire sauce
1/2 small onion, grated
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups chopped seitan

Sauce:
6 tablespoons unsweetened plain nondairy yogurt
Black pepper

Other:
3 medium red or yellow potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
Fresh lemon juice or oil spray
4 large tortilla wraps
Pickles

1. Marinade: Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, tahini, worcestershire, onion, garlic, garam masala and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk well to combine. Add the seitan and mix. Set aside to marinade at least 30 minutes or up to overnight. 
2. Bake the potatoes while the seitan is marinating. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and spray with oil or drizzle with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to an air-fryer and bake for 15 minutes at 360-degrees and then another 10 minutes at 390-degrees. Stir or shake the basket every 10 minutes. Alternatively, bake the potatoes on a pre-heated 400-degree oven until tender and golden, about 40 minutes. 
3. Drain the seitan well, reserving the marinade. Transfer to the air-fryer basket and bake at 390-degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir after every 5 minutes. Alternatively, bake in a preheated 375-degree F oven for 30 minutes. 
4. Sauce: Combine the reserved marinade with the 6 tablespoons yogurt and season with salt and plenty of black pepper. Warm the tortillas.
5. Add potatoes to the tortilla, along with the seitan and a few slices of pickles. Roll up and serve with the sauce.


© 2016 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

PIN IT!