Then grill an assortment of veggies - I always use about 2 medium sized zucchini quartered lengthwise then, a red onion with the ends sliced off then halved against the grain as well as strips of multi colored bell peppers. Sometimes I also grill mushrooms, sometimes not. And this is where you can also grill pork or chicken... or even beef to make your bread salad a complete meal... I usually marinate the veggies in a basic Italian vinaigrette for an hour or so before grillin'. The one thing I always do is to make sure the zucchini aren't overcooked... nothin' worse than mushy zucchini...
Once the veggies are grilled, I cut them into bite sized pieces then place them in a mixing bowl with the cubed, stale bread on the bottom along with any veggie juices that are liberated from grillin'... this process helps to soften the bread a little with those veggie flavors. I then cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap which keeps the moisture in the mixing bowl...
While the bread and veggie mixture are gettin' to know each other, I halve a basket of cherry tomatoes, slice Nicoise or Kalamata olives, rough chop a heaping tablespoon of capers and make a basic Balsamic vinegar vinaigrette. I also julienne some fresh basil... I then mix the bread and veggies...
Then add the tomatoes, olives and capers and toss everything with the Balsamic vinaigrette adding the julienne basil just before serving... It's a great dish for potlucks as the dish can be made well ahead of time tossing the julienne basil at the last moment and can be served immediately, slightly chilled or fully chilled... My next panzanella will likely take an Argentinian approach perhaps adding grilled steak and a chimichurri instead of Balsamic vinaigrette...
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