The Happy Home Cook: Summer Garden Caesar Panzanella Salad

The Happy Home Cook features cherished recipes of Filipino dishes from well-known foodies and contributors. If you have a recipe that you are proud of and would like to share, please send it along with a photo of the dish, your two-sentence bio and your picture to submissions@positivelyfilipino.com.

Summer Garden Caesar Panzanella Salad (Source: Simple Salad Cookbook: 100 Recipes That Can Be Made in Minutes by Johanna Marie Mirpuri (Rockridge Press 2020))

Panzanella salad is a popular Italian-dish, featuring stale bread tossed with vegetables, meats and cheeses. Traditionally, this salad was created by farmers using readily available ingredients like tomatoes, red onion and basil. Although usually dressed with oil and vinegar, we are creating this salad with creamy Caesar Dressing for a different style that’s going to be a hit.

Recipe from Simple Salad Cookbook: 100 Recipes That Can Be Made in Minutes by Johanna Marie Mirpuri (Rockridge Press 2020). 

Serves  4

Ingredients

Salad

1 (5-ounce) package garlic croutons

1 (4.5 ounce) bag shredded romaine lettuce

1 English cucumber, cut into rounds and halved

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

½ cup shaved Parmesan cheese

¼ cup sliced red onions 

Caesar Dressing

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons sour cream

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

Salad:

In a large bowl, toss all the ingredients together with 2 tablespoons Caesar Dressing. Taste and add more dressing if desired.

Caesar Dressing:

Blend all the ingredients in a blender or NutriBullet. Taste for seasoning. Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.