Seasonal Pantry: A hearty bread salad

A couple of weeks ago, I served meatballs and bread salad at a private event at DaVero, one of the sweetest little wineries around (and most familiar as pioneers in California’s olive oil renaissance). Their Carignano would be paired with one of the meatballs in my book, “More Than Meatballs,” and I wanted to make the match as perfect as possible. To do this, I added of layer of subtle sweetness with a few spices along with maple syrup, spaghetti squash and apple cider vinegar. It was a beautiful match.

One guest liked the meal so much that I promised to feature the recipe for the bread salad in this column and so here it is. Another guest was quite surprised as she looked at the salad.

“You’ve made bread salad without tomatoes,” she exclaimed, somewhat puzzled.

I explained that I only use tomatoes when they are in season locally and that at other times I feature whatever is best at our farmers markets. That made sense to her and I could tell she was considering the idea of panzanella without tomatoes, which opens up a delicious world of possibilities.

There is great spaghetti squash at our markets right now. Min-Hee Hills Farm has quite a lot at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market and I’ve seen some at the Sebastopol Farmers Market, too. You’ll recognize the squash by its oblong shape and bright, yellow-orange skin.

Spaghetti squash, like other winter squashes, are harvested in the fall. They are built to last, to get us through the lean months until spring crops start to come in. As the squash are stored, they lose moisture to the atmosphere which serves to intensify their natural flavors, making the next several weeks the perfect time to enjoy them.

For more ways to use this delicious squash, from the Seasonal Pantry archives, visit “Eat This Now” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com, where you’ll find spaghetti squash Bolognese, spaghetti squash fritters, spaghetti squash with mushrooms and sausages and a Thai salad served over spaghetti squash.

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It is quicker to steam spaghetti squash, but the method dilutes the flavors a bit while roasting intensifies them. It’s not hard to roast, but it does take a bit longer.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Makes 6 to 8 cups, approximately

1 spaghetti squash

- Olive oil

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and then cut each half in half again, crosswise. This is best accomplished by using a cleaver, carefully. Do not attempt it if you don’t have a sharp, strong, sturdy knife.

Brush the cut parts of the squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set on a baking sheet, set the sheet on the middle rack of the oven and bake until tender when pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes or so.

Remove from the oven, let cool until easy to handle and then scoop out the flesh with a sturdy fork or spoon. The flesh will practically shred itself but if it doesn’t, pull it apart with a fork or your fingers.

Use right away, store in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days or pack into freezer bags for up to 3 months.

Serving suggestion: To enjoy as is, toss with some Chinese five-spice butter or other butter, season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

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This salad is delicious with a lusty red wine, such as DaVero 2011 Carignano or the winery’s 2012 Dolcetto. <>

A Bread Salad for Winter & Red Wine

Serves 6 to 10

1 loaf sourdough hearth bread, see Note below, preferably two days old

4 cups roasted and shredded spaghetti squash, see recipe above

3-4 medium carrots, trimmed and scrubbed

- Olive oil

- Kosher salt

4 cups (about ½ bunch) thinly sliced Lacinato kale

- Apple Cider Maple Syrup Vinaigrette, recipe follows

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

¾ cup pecans, lightly toasted and chopped

½ cup chopped Italian parsley leaves

Tear the bread into small (bite-sized) pieces and spread it over a baking sheet or wide shallow bowl. If the bread is quite fresh, set it aside for several hours or over night and set it in a 225-degree oven for about 45 minutes; do not let it brown.

Prepare the spaghetti squash, if you have not already done so.

Preheat the oven (a toaster oven is perfect) to 375 degrees. Set the carrots in a small baking dish, drizzle with a little olive oil and turn to coat them. Season with salt, set in the oven and roast until tender, from 25 to 45 minutes or a little longer, depending on their age and size. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Put the kale into a bowl, season fairly generously with salt and turn well, massaging the kale as you do. Set aside for about 2 hours and every so often, turn and massage the kale again.

Meanwhile, make the dressing and set it aside. Cut the carrots into thin slices.

When all the ingredients are ready, finish the salad. Put the bread into a wide, deep bowl, add the spaghetti squash, kale, carrots and onion and toss together gently but thoroughly. Pour about two-thirds of the dressing over the salad, toss well, cover and set aside for about 30 minutes.

To finish the salad, add the remaining dressing, the pecans and the parsley, toss and serve right away.

Note: There are many great breads in Sonoma County. For this salad, I recommend Raymond’s Salted Sourdough, Costeaux Sour Batard, Full Circle Bakery Sourdough, your favorite Della Fattoria loaf or any other good, crusty bread.

Serving Suggestions: The salad is delicious neat, as is. It is also excellent with meatballs (seasoned with the same spices), with Korean-style short ribs, with smoky sausage and with roasted chicken.

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Balance is key in this vinaigrette. You should be able to taste the syrup but it should not overwhelm the other flavors. Both peppers and salt should be present on the palate, too, and the acidity should be bright and lively.

Apple Cider Vinegar Maple Syrup Vinaigrette

Makes about 1¾ cups

½ cup organic apple cider vinegar

? cup maple syrup, preferably Grade B, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¾ teaspoon ground cardamom

½-1 teaspoon ground piment d’Espelette or other medium-hot ground chile

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

- White pepper in a mill

- Black pepper in a mill

1 cup best quality extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

Put the vinegar, maple syrup, cumin, cardamom and piment d’Espelette into a glass jar, add the salt and several very generous turns of both white and black pepper, seal the jar and shake well. Taste and correct for salt, pepper and spices. At this point the dressing will be quite acidic, of course. Don’t worry; it is easy to taste and correct before adding the olive oil.

When the vinegar mixture tastes really good - you should feel free to pump up the spices to suit your palate - with the amount of sweetness you prefer, add the olive oil, seal the jar and shake again.

Set aside until ready to use.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 19 books to date, including the new “More Than Meatballs.” Email Jordan at catsmilk@sonic.net. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.