Cornbread Panzanella Salad

gluten-free // yields 2-4 servings

for the dressing:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon grated shallot, use the small holes on your grater/zester

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon coriander

1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt + pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

Place all ingredient in a sealed jar and shake vigorously until fully combined.

Set aside until ready to dress and store excess in the fridge. This can be made ahead.

for the salad:

1 batch gluten-free cornbread, or your favorite cornbread recipe - baked + cooled

mixed baby greens or baby spinach

1-2 green zucchinis

2-3 heirloom tomatoes, sliced

2 ears of corn

1 avocado, sliced

oil, salt, pepper

Preheat your oven to 350* F and slice half of your cornbread with a serrated knife into 1/2-1-inch sized pieces.

Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 8-11 minutes, flipping once, until just starting to toast and turn golden brown.

Remove and let fully cool.

Preheat your grill while the cornbread is baking to med-high, ~400*F.

Shuck and lightly oil your corn then grill for 3 minutes per side, turning 3-4 times.

Remove and let cool then hold vertically and slice downward with a knife to remove the kernels.

Trim ends from the zucchini and slice with a vegetable peeler [lengthwise] or a mandolin and curl the slices around your finger.

Place greens on a large platter [or individual plates] and top with vegetables, cornbread, and dressing.

Top with salt + pepper and serve immediately.

For a vegan version, try using my gluten-free + vegan cornbread recipe and sub agave for the honey!

Do you like how I get you all excited for chai recipes and then instead give you soup + cornbread stuffing?

My apologies. I just can’t get over Thanksgiving stuffing. There are too many recipes to try! And if you can believe it, I’ve never had cornbread stuffing before.

Do you also like how I talk about working out all last week and then leaving you hanging with what I actually decided on? I have a hard time knowing whether to mix that in with food recipes or devote a whole post to blabbing about my biceps + quads.

In short, I’ve decided to start Jamie Eason’s Livefit 12 week program. I just finished day four and am S.O.R.E. I still wish I was sweating my face off, doing Body Rock workouts, but I’m trying to be very cautious about high impact workouts + my problematic foot. More on this next week!

Now back to the regularly scheduled program.

Yesterday’s cornbread, turned into cornbread croutons today. I can’t even begin to tell you how much cornbread I’ve consumed in the past two days. It’s definitely close to an entire batch.

And then it turned into cornbread stuffing, with a few simple steps.

In this version, I used the same basic ingredients, but changed the amounts around. I added more garlic + more sage. I also used a little green onion in the mix and milk as opposed to veggie broth for mixing with the eggs.

Nice + crispy on top, and doughy + soft on the inside.

Cornbread Skillet Stuffing

1 batch of cornbread [9x9 batch]
3/4c onion, chopped
2T green onion, diced
1/2c celery, chopped
3/4c carrot, chopped
3/4c unsweetened milk of choice
2 eggs
2T ghee/butter/oil
2t garlic, minced
1.5T fresh sage, diced
1t dried thyme
1t dried parsley
1/2t dried oregano
1/2t salt
black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350*.
Cube the cornbread into about 1/2-1” pieces and spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15+ minutes, turning once in between, until golden brown and crisped.
While cornbread is browning, heat a 9” cast iron pan, over medium, and melt 1T ghee/butter/oil.
Once hot, add the onion [but not the green onion], celery and carrot. Stir for 7-9min, until a bit softened.
Stir in garlic, green onion, sage, thyme, parsley, oregano, salt + pepper for 1min.
Turn off the heat, move the pan to a cool burner.
Add the other 1T ghee/butter/oil and carefully spread around the bottom + sides of the pan.
In a small bowl whisk together the eggs + milk.
Empty the croutons into the pan and lightly toss with the cooked veggies.
Pour the milk and egg mixture on top and again, gently toss.
Cover with foil and bake for 30min, then uncover and broil for 3-5min, until golden brown and crispy. Watch carefully while broiling.

tips/substitutions: I have a vegan + non-vegan cornbread recipe that both would work well for this. Or use your favorite cornbread recipe. If you want to veganize this, I would suggest [not positive!] using 1c milk + 2T flax meal. Whisk them together and pour on top. If you don’t have a cast iron pan, use a regular pan to cook the veggies and spices. Then, place about a 9x9 baking dish in the oven with 1T ghee/butter/oil. Remove after a few minutes, and carefully turn the pan to grease the bottom and sides. Combine the veggie mixture, croutons, and milk mixture in the pan and toss gently. Bake as directed above.

Then?

Dig.

In.

Or maybe top with cheese + broil again. Your call!

I thought I would keep it short + sweet today. Get right to the point, deviating for only a brief minute, then right back to the corny, bready goodness.

But if you want to check out something non-food related, then I’m not quite done yet!

Baby Henry’s blog post is up! Ashley McLaughlin Photography

Happy Friday.

Ashley