Our Domicile

I’ll admit it. I’m a fan of Gwyneth. Not a put up posters of her on my wall all Tiger Beat style fan, or even a “I must see every movie she’s ever made” fan (no plans at all to see Country Strong for example), but ever since Sliding Doors I’ve had an affection for her. And I can’t say I haven’t spent a few moment daydreaming about having a gorgeous London home, personal stylist, regular opportunities to vacation in Spain and personal friendship with designer Stella McCartney… So, I’ll admit it, I was pretty excited to get my hands on her new cookbook, My Father’s Daughter not excited enough to rush out and buy it mind you, I waited for it to come in at the library. And like all things anticipated, I tried to prepare myself for it to be a letdown, but so far, it hasn’t been. In fact, I’m planning on making the investment in my own copy the next time I’m up for a treat.

It’s a good balance of veggie recipes (important to me) with a decent number of kid and family friendly options and, at least on the veggie front, most of the recipes are quick and easy to cook. If I had any complaint, it would be that they’re actually all a little too close to dishes I already use and love. But, it’s nice to get a new twist on an old favourite. In that vein, last night I made her version of a bread salad or panzanella, though I had to adjust it a bit to make it my own.

The basic ingredients are:

• roasted red/yellow bell peppers
• ripe juicy tomatoes
• fresh torn basil leaves
• stale but hearty bread (I used a rye sourdough from our favourite local bakery)
• a tangy vinaigrette dressing

Gwyneth uses a red wine vinegar/anchovy dressing. Not being a big fan of the salty fishes, I used a version of a basil dressing from the Rebar Cookbook that they recommend for their own bread salad. I also added my new favourite easy ingredient beluga lentils. I’ve been cooking up a small batch (like 1/3 -1/2 cup dry) lately and keeping them in the fridge to add to everything from salads to omelettes to pasta. As an added bonus my little girl loves to just pick at them for a snack.

In the end, here’s my version of Gwyneth’s Panzanella, as she says, a great way to use up stale bread and so delicious in the summer when tomatoes and herbs are at their yummiest.

Domicile Panzanella Salad

• 1 pint of fresh and juicy cherry tomatoes cut in half or 3-4 nice firm medium sized tomatoes cut in chunks
• 2 roasted red peppers, skinned and cut into chunks about the same size as the tomatoes
• 1/2 loaf of stale crusty bread cut into cubes/torn into cubes
• 1/3 cup of dried beluga lentils, cooked in approx 1 cup of water
• 2 medium sized balls of fresh mozarella/bocconcini cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup of pitted kalamata olives roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 bunch of fresh basil torn
• your favourite vinaigrette (or the basil dressing listed below)

Cook the lentils ahead of time so they have time to cool. To add extra flavour, I sometimes cook mine with a small clove of peeled garlic tossed in. Just rinse the lentils, pick out any stones, then cook in approximately 3-4 times the volume of water to lentils. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20-25 minutes testing to see if they’re done. Remember if you cook lentils with salt they won’t soften and the age of the lentils will impact how long they take to cook.

Toss all the above ingredients in a large bowl just before serving (or else the bread will get soggy). Add a good crack or three of fresh pepper and a pinch of sea salt.

Rebar Bail Vinaigrette (kind of)
Note, if you use this recipe you don’t need to add fresh basil to the salad and instead can replace with some fresh greens to add colour.

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup of  wine vinegar (I use white or red depending on what I have)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dijon or grainy mustard
• 1 tsp honey, agave or maple syrup
• 1 large bunch of basil washed
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• salt & pepper

Add all but the oil/salt/pepper to a blender and blend until smooth. Slowly add your oil in a steady stream while the blender runs to make a thick/uniform dressing. Taste and adjust acid/oil to your liking. Add a pinch of salt and crack or two of pepper.