Portuguese Sausage Panzanella with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Long name, tasty results.  I've just recently become aware of this particular style of salad. There is this awesome little pizza place here in Spokane called South Perry Pizza, and on their facebook updates one day they mentioned the special was Panzanella.  So I researched it and have seen different recipes here and there, so I decided it was time I try it for myself.  I was planning on making a pasta salad with a left over Portuguese sausage link I had, but I figured it was time to give Panzanella a go.  I'm glad I did.  It's really sort of like fancy croutons, but different in some way.  I don't know, just try it!

What you'll need:

1 large or 2 small Portuguese Sausage link/s (or any sausage) cooked or grilled

1 cup cherry tomatoes halved

1 cup black olives halved

1 cup diced cucumber

3-4 cups fresh spinach (I could only fit 3 in my bowl, use 4 if you can)

1 cup white beans (any sort like cannellini or great northern)

1 cup feta crumbles

1 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed

1 small loaf sourdough or french bread

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

Dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Slice off ends of bread and cut into 1 1/2 inch thick slices.  Mix olive oil and granulated garlic together and brush over each side of bead.  You can either grill on the bbq with your sausage or broil in the oven, just make sure its nice and toasted!  In a large bowl add all other salad ingredients.  Whisk together dressing and allow to sit for a few minutes.

Once sausage and bread are nice and grilled, allow to cool enough to handle.  Slice sausage into bite size pieces. Add to bowl.  Break bread into smaller pieces, only using crusts and discarding center. When you toss with dressing, the parts with no crust turn to mush.  Add about 3 cups of crusts to bowl.  Toss with dressing.

My sorry excuse for a garden.  My tomato plant is looking pretty good tho, it's not pictured. 

Who knew Jalapeno flowers were so pretty.

If I were (or when I do) to make this salad again, I think I would remove the center of the bread before I grilled it, that way it could get toasty on 4 sides.  Trust me on discarding that center part.  Other than that, this salad was delicious.  You could skip the sausage and have it for more of a side dish, or use any other meat you choose.  As you know, I'm a big fan of the one stop meal deal!  Also, if you have leftovers, remove any of the left over bread before refrigerating. The bread is yummy, but it's only a one time shot type of yummy.  Other than that, go for it!  Enjoy!