In the gardens here in the frigid tundra of Minnesota, fall brings a time when vegetables such as squash are at their prime for picking. I'm not quite ready to make the switch to the soup, stew & roast focused menus that become popular this time of year. This Fall Panzanella Salad is a great last ditch effort to hang on to salad season, while utilizing some of the great vegetables that are just coming into season now.

Panza-what?

Panzanella is an Italian based salad featuring toasted bread, vinaigrette & a variety of vegetables. I was first introduced to this salad in it's more traditional version made with fresh tomatoes, cucumber & basil. Our family loves this version during the hot summer months, but I wanted to come up with a new recipe that would transition well into the fall season. The vegetables in this Fall Panzanella Salad take on such a great flavor when roasted and the balsamic vinaigrette & goat cheese tie everything together perfectly.

Roasting the Veggies

Start the Fall Panzanella Salad by getting the veggies ready to roast. First, peel and dice butternut squash and cut into 1 inch cubes. You should end up with about 3 cups. Trim ends of brussels sprouts and cut them in half. You should get about 3 cups of these as well. Next, cut broccoli into bite-size florets to yield about 2 cups. Finally, slice half a red onion into thin slices.

Place the veggies on large baking sheet and coat with olive oil, salt & pepper. Roast in oven 20-25 minutes until vegetables are tender. Remove from oven and set aside to cool to room temperature. To save time, the vegetables could be roasted ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Homemade Croutons

You will want your oven to remain at 400 degrees so don't turn it off if you are going right to this step after roast the veggies.

Take Italian loaf and cut in half. Most are about 16 oz. for a whole loaf, so you want to aim for about 8 oz. of crusty bread. Cut into 1 inch cubes.

In large cast iron skillet, add butter & 2 Tbsp. olive oil. When butter is melted, add garlic and cook for a minute. Add in cubed bread and stir to thoroughly coat. Place skillet in oven and cook croutons for 18-20 minutes until bread lightly browns and turns crispy. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, follow the steps on the stovetop in a regular skillet and transfer onto baking sheet to toast in the oven. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. These croutons are SO good! Try not to eat too many right out of the pan!

Assembling the Fall Panzanella Salad

When the veggies and bread are cooled, time to make the Fall Panzanella Salad!

In a mason jar, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Give the jar a good shake to combine. The dressing could also be made in a small bowl and whisked together, but I think the mason jar is so simple and fun!

Add the roasted vegetables to a large bowl. Pour in vinaigrette and mix to coat well. Add in croutons and stir together. Finally, crumble goat cheese into bowl and add the dried cranberries. Gently mix everything together, being sure not to squish the vegetables and cheese too much. Let sit about 10-15 minutes to let the flavors marry together.

This salad just screams fall without being too heavy like the soups & stews we traditionally lean on this time of year. I hope this Fall Panzanella Salad will be one you use to hold onto the last bit of warm weather before it's gone!