Warm Bread Salad

Bread salad is typically a summer supper. It’s usually an orgy of amply juicy ripe tomatoes combined with little more than cubes of bread, ribbons of basil, salt, pepper, and most fragrant, fruitiest, fanciest olive oil you can afford. How I miss this dish in the cold weather months. This warm January version has a different personality, but I like it just as much. Pickled red onions brighten the sweet roasted vegetables and bread absorbs plenty of big flavor. The recipe after the jump.

Warm Bread Salad

serves 2

1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 teaspoon salt, divided
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 inches of a baguette, cubed
2 cups (about 1 half medium) butternut squash, cubed
8 ounces Brussels sprouts, quartered
2 slices cooked bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the sliced onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the vinegar and set aside to let the onions pickle somewhat.

Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the tray, set it aside, and increase the oven to 400.

Now it’s time to do battle with the squash. I hate peeling and chopping raw squash, but sometimes it must be done. For me it takes a mallet, and at least three sharp instruments:

Notice how these pieces aren’t especially even? That’s OK. Do the best you can.

Now combine the squash with the sprouts, bacon, and olive oil, and toss to coat the vegetables with oil and bacon.

Spread out on a baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown. Then toss the bread, onions and vinegar, roasted vegetables, parsley and pepper together and serve at once … this doesn’t keep well.

Oh, and about that bacon. People often ask me how I keep bacon fresh and handy when I only use a couple of slice, at most, a week. Here’s the solution:

Coil the slices individually and nestle them into a container that you stash in the freezer. Pop out single slices as needed. The slices defrost in a hot pan or on the cutting board in no time. Confession: I intended this to be vegan, as you can see it would be if I just would have omitted the bacon, but I got into a cooking zone and forgot all about that. But I’ve made it sans meat before. It’s still very good. So it’s vegan optional.