Roasted Spring Vegetable Panzanella

1 cup of leftover crumbled bread,  sourdough or baguette (this is totally optional if you are gluten free)

½ cup almonds, chopped

1 bunch of asparagus cut into 2” pieces - compost the woody ends

8-10 radishes* quartered

1 handful of pea shoots chopped into bite size pieces

⅔  cup fresh peas

1-2 oz chopped fresh greens (arugula, spinach, baby lettuces)

1 TBSP chopped fresh chives

1-2 TBSP fresh grated parmesan cheese 

* Roasted radishes are so satisfying.  That said, you may not be into them.  This recipe is also fantastic utilizing fresh strawberries in place of the radishes.

For vinaigrette

½ lemon juice and zest

2 cloves garlic from garlic press

1 tsp dijon or stone ground mustard

1 tsp honey or maple syrup

1 TBSP white wine vinegar (or vinegar of choice)

2 TBSP quality olive oil (yes, it matters)

½ tsp salt

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Break the leftover bread into ½-inch chunks. This recipe works best if you can tear the bread, but sometimes the bread is too hard to tear by hand. In this case, I cut the bread with a knife. Add the almonds, toss in a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt, toast for 5-7 minutes. Remove and increase the oven heat to 425 degrees. Cut the Radish and asparagus toss  in a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly caramelized.Remove from the oven and let cool. 

While the other ingredients are cooling to room temperature, prepare your vinaigrette and mix well. 

Chop your greens of choice. Add toasted bread, almonds, roasted vegetables and greens to one bowl and toss with vinaigrette. Sprinkle the top with fresh chives and grated Parmesan. 

As you can imagine, this recipe is endlessly flexible and can take on new forms with each and every season.