Southwest Panzanella

Looking for a quick new dinner recipe that your family will be craving? Fall is the perfect time to cook up new recipes that you and your family will love. We are happy Liz Berry is sharing her recipe creation with us.

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Liz writes, “Any dish with a Latin or southwestern flavor is a huge hit in our house. This recipe plays a rift on the Italian themed bread salad panzanella. Cornbread shows up in some Latin-inspired recipes. I didn’t have green chilies otherwise I would have added them to the cornbread.

My life simply does not feel complete without some beans every day and my world would turn ever so slowly if avocados weren’t a staple. I love figuring out new ways to include them in recipes. This recipe is super flexible; add more or less or different of the salad ingredients. For an extra punch top your serving with salsa.”

I love this exciting combination of using ingredients we always have in our cupboard like black beans and frozen corn and pairing with old favorites of cilantro, lime and tomatoes. A winning recipe! You could easily add ground beef if you desire more protein.

You make the cornbread, let it cool while you go about your business or if you like make it the night before.

Cornbread

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup frozen corn (I like fire roasted)

Dressing

  • 3 Tbsp lime juice
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Dash of garlic powder

Salad

  • 3 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 avocado , diced
  • 4-6 green onions, sliced
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425º. Stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk oil, egg and milk together. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in corn. Pour into a 9×9” baking dish coated with non-stick spray. Bake for 20 minutes or until top is lightly golden brown. Allow the cornbread to fully cool. Cut into 3/4” cubes.
  2. In a serving bowl combine all salad ingredients.
  3. Combine all dressing ingredients.
  4. Add the cornbread to the salad. Toss with the dressing.
  5. Serve immediately or refrigerated until serving.

SW Panzanella

This salad is great for using other vegetables you have on hand. You can add more tomatoes, beans, whatever you like in fact. Some of my family members like less cornbread so I often use 3/4 of the pan and use the rest to serve with another meal.

Liz Berry, MS, RDN

Liz Berry, MS, RDN has a mindful eating practice and is the owner of Berry Nutrition. She loves coaching clients to have peace with food and themselves. In addition, she helps businesses have peace with their menus and nutrition analysis.

liz berry

 

 

 

Liz has three grown children and they are all very close. Her daughter live thousands of miles away on the north and south east coast and they still see each other many times a year as family is what life is all about. She has been married to the love of her life, Steve for 34 years. Fun is her middle name and she finds it in the simple as well as the grand! @LizRDN