Panzanella Soup?

[radtek]

What to do with leftover panzanella?

Things got out of control and I made a much larger batch than usual and was thinking of making soup with what's left. Which is a lot. The salad is more of a free-form spicy southwestern panz with baguette, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, relish, olives, pickled carrots, pickled green tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, avocado and cilantro. Dressing was a light mustard vinaigrette. Probably didn't even need the dressing just the oil with all the pickled stuff in there. Kind of a "what's in the fridge?" dish.

Figure I could use hot chicken stock and give it a whirl with the immersion blender. Garnish with roasted corn, cilantro, and some jack or cheddar cheese. Was also thinking of some greek yogurt too but figure the whole thing would be fairly piquant as it is.

Ideas?

Maybe a casserole? Some sort of bread pudding?

What do you make out of leftover leftovers?

[radtek]

How about a frittata? To me this makes more sense though guess one could make two dishes- frittata tonight and soup for lunch or dinner tomorrow. Whew. Time to get some eggs.

[SylviaLovegren]

Sounds like a southwestern gazpacho. So why not make it a cold spicy soup -- blended -- with some crunchy toppings to finish?

[radtek]

I made a frittata with half the panzanella. Used three whipped eggs and about an oz of diced cheddar cheese mixed with the salad. Into a saucepan over low heat for 15 minutes uncovered and then under the broiler for 2 minutes. Served hot wedges on ripped romaine. That's it. No dressing- I could have fancied it up a bit but the crunch of the lettuce contrasted the piquant frittata quite well. Basic- not perfect but maybe a decent idea for a starter or light lunch.

The other half I picked about half the bread out and reserved. Heated 5 cups of chicken stock and in went the rest of the panz. I simmered for an hour and whirled it up with the immersion blender. Another 15 minutes and got another whirl to really smooth it out. Then the soup was chilled in an ice-bath. It's in the fridge with the reserved bread waiting for lunch tomorrow!

Will try it chilled but when the bread goes in it while hot they will make some nice soft dumplings so I'm excited about that. The soup has a brightness to it that is quite pleasing and refreshing.

[radtek]

Well here are the results for the frittata and the soup. I garnished the soup with some fresh cilantro and served with a caramelized onion roasted-corn relish topped baked potato. Very satisfying and low fat. Nothing goes to waste in this kitchen if I can help it!