April is all about rebirth. We’ve talked about pretty young herbs and fresh sweet cream, cleaning your pots and pans so they’re good as new and hiring a new chef (ha!). We love applying this idea to the kitchen, as there are few ingredients in your pantry that can’t be given new life with the right touch. Bread is no exception.
Watch the Video: How to Re-Crisp Your Bread in the Fridge
Some of the most delicious meals in the world’s repertoire–yes, the entire world–originate in cooks’ desires not to waste any precious bread. The recipes that follow all make use of day-old bread–and in fact they embrace the bread’s age. None of them are as tasty with fresh bread as they are with slightly stale baguette or country round.
Read more: All About Yeast Breads
Check back soon for a breakfast application, also known as French toast.
1. Marjoram Garlic Chicken with Jersey Tomato Panzanella
Panzanella is a salad that places croutons front and center, instead of treating them like an afterthought. Long eaten by Italian peasants to prevent bread waste, our panzanella’s got all kinds of gourmet touches, from crispy-skinned chicken to fresh herbs.
2. Kale Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons
And now, to put croutons back in their rightful place: atop the salad. Stale bread makes the best crispy and flavorful croutons. Believe it.
3. Roasted Fennel over Linguine with Lemon Ricotta and Castelvetrano Olives & Breadcrumbs
Take your bread and pulverize it into breadcrumbs, then crisp those up in a pan to make a pasta topping that gives Parmesan a run for its money.
4. Salmon Caesar Salad
A Caesar salad has a few important parts: crunchy romaine lettuce, crispy croutons, and good creamy dressing. That means that your previously neglected bread is now
5. Tuscan Ribollita
This rustic, Tuscan soup has its origins in the Middle Ages, when feudal servants would gather day-old bread from their lords’ banquet tables and use it to thicken their own potages.
6. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Fontina & Tomato
Did you know? Slightly stale bread becomes crunchier in the pan while you’re frying up your grilled cheese.
7. Manhattan Fish Chowder with Crusty Bread
Crusty bread is prime for dipping–its crunch is the perfect complement to the bright fish soup.
8. Pan-Seared Salmon with Cranberry-Walnut Stuffing
When you use stale bread for stuffing, the cubes have the opportunity to absorb all the delicious goodness of the other stuffing ingredients.
