Summertime #TeaSnacky: Panzanella with Sliced Beef Sirloin
By April on Jun 24 Filed In Food & Beverage, recipes, teasnacky 2 Comments
I decided that I needed to get back on the “eat right train” that I’ve been on until the last 6 months or so and what better time to do it than in the summer when it’s just too hot to want to eat your standard comfort food fare. Insert brainiac idea to make myself a tasty bread salad with sliced sirloin on top. Don’t worry about what drink to pair it with, just grab a bottle of sparkling water and your favorite flavor of Sweet Leaf Tea, (Citrus, Half & Half, or Mint & Honey perhaps?) and mix it up. Curious about the exact ratio? Here’s my best guess: 3/4 tea to 1/4 water-ish, but feel free to experiment and comment on what the best ratio is. You could also add some fruit juice to really make it exciting!
Anyways, for my super-easy panzanella (meant to be made with day-old bread and fresh veggies), I cheated and bought some of what I needed off of the Whole Foods Market salad bar and bought bread, that became a couple of days old by the time I used it. I like a variety of tasty stuff on my salad, so I grabbed a variety of veggies (b-b-b-beets, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, local cherry tomatoes, diced red bell pepper, black olives, artichoke hearts, mixed heirloom lettuce, spinach and cucumbers), fresh mozzarella (the Specialty Team Members at the Lamar store make some INCREDIBLE cheese), sharp cheddar, Black Forest bacon (get it from the meat counter, you’ll be glad you did), part of a crusty baguette, a balsamic dressing and a succulent petite sirloin and threw it all into a bowl and tossed.
All that's missing is the sirloin!
Black Forest bacon in mah oven
I think it’d be cool to see what YOU end up throwing in your panzanella salad. Make your own dressing, use veggies from your own garden, the sky is the limit and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
**Below you’ll find a recipe from Alton Brown that will get your culinary creative juices flowing.**
Alton Brown’s Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups French bread cut into 1-inch cubes and dried overnight
- 6 slices bacon, cooked, chopped, drippings reserved
- 2 cups halved grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons oil, for searing
- 2 cups halved yellow pear tomatoes or roughly chopped heirloom tomatoes
- 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chiffonade mint
- 1 tablespoon chiffonade basil
Directions
Toss bread cubes in the bacon drippings. Sear the halved grape tomatoes in 2 tablespoons of oil, cut side down, until caramelized about 5 minutes, set aside.
Combine red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl, slowly whisk in olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.
Combine all tomatoes, bread, bacon, and lettuce and dress with vinaigrette, toss well, garnish with mint and basil and serve.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by April Riggs, Sweet Leaf Tea Co.. Sweet Leaf Tea Co. said: Love summer salads & the idea of a tasty #teasnacky? Read about my latest creation: http://bit.ly/doP9OT (Panzanella FTW!!) [...]
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