For me, one of the keys to feeling comfortable in the kitchen was accepting my identity as either a routine person or a variety person. Routine peeps are the folks who eat the same thing for breakfast every morning, no matter what time of day it is, or whether it’s 1975 or 2083. Come hell or the downfall of Beyoncé, they will eat their Total cereal with skim milk and sliced banana (ok, maybe that’s just my grandma, but you get my point). Variety people, on the other hand, need a green smoothie one day and a green shakshuka the next. Forget about routine. These people want the flava.
Neither is better. But knowing on which side you fall will actually help you get into a kitchen flow that feels fun, instead of stifling. My preferences lie somewhere in the middle—I’ll find a dish or a food I like, and eat it on repeat for a week or two, or a season. Most of my repeat dishes are seasonally dictated, particularly when it comes to salads. (Ahem: I have much less glamorous routine foods, like, say my addiction to stevia root beer and peanut butter pretzels.)
I ate this Kale & Roasted Kabocha Salad all winter, and as spring has unfurled its tendrils around us, I’ve been desperate for this season’s go-to. So. Ready your salad bowls, ‘cause this panzanella is coming in for landing.
If you’re not familiar with a panzanella, it’s a Tuscan salad made with chunks of bread that soak up the general deliciousness by which they are surrounded. I know. Genius. This particular panzanella varietal features the best of spring in its most glorious shades of greens and fuschias: Quick pickled watermelon radishes, sugar snap peas, avocado, and dill.
These quick pickles (or quickles, as portmanteau queen Emily Stoffel dubbed them) became a fast favorite for me and the friends I kindly pushed them on (everyone needs quickles, amiright?!). Laced with the brightness of dill and the depth of ume plum vinegar—which contains notes of shiso leaf, sweet plum, and super umami salt and tang—they bring a potent richness to the salad. And, of course, the bread chunks, which soak up some of their marinade.
Finished with feta, lemon, and olive oil, this salad is really everything you need to get into a solid lunch routine. Or to throw something new into the mix, if variety is your jam.
Ingredients
Quick Pickled Watermelon (Quickles)
- ¾ cup thinly sliced watermelon radish I use my vegetable peeler
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ume plum vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill or ½ teaspoon fresh dill leaves
Salad
- 2 leaves small heads little gem lettuce bottoms trimmed and washed
- ½ cup sugar snap peas sliced in thirds
- ½ cup crumbled feta
- 1 small avocado sliced
- 1 cup torn chunks of crusty bread like baguette
- generous drizzle olive oil
- generous squeeze of lemon juice
- generous sprinkled of sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the sliced watermelon radish, vinegars, and dill. Turn to coat all radish slices completely, and then transfer to a sealable glass jar. Close the jar and turn it upside down, letting the juices commingle in all the right places. Let sit at least 15 minutes.
- Lay bread chunks on a baking pan and place in toaster or regular oven for a few minutes at 425º, just until lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Tear lettuce leaves into a large bowl, and add peas, bread, and quickles, plus an extra drizzle of the quickle marinade. Add olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt, and toss the salad. Then add avocado and feta, and toss again, gently. Give it a taste and adjust your fat, salt, and acid levels as desired by adding an extra drizzle of olive oil, red wine vinegar or lemon, and salt.
- Eat by the bowlful. Enjoy spring bounty.
