Autumn Panzanella

Last week was my week to bring treats to Mommy & Me. I decided I wanted to bring some kind of autumn thing but nothing that was hard, too much like Thanksgiving the next day or contained meat. So, I decided to make a panzanella! I used two different recipes as inspiration and then came up with my own twist. The dressing I made for the class was dull but the one I had later was awesome. I recommend this recipe whole-heartedly. Also, these sweet potatoes are awesome and I recommend them on their own.  This would also be great with nuts but our classroom is listed as nut free. Add pecans if you don't have that trouble. I also don't really have measurements for this but anything will work.

Except for cutting the apple, you make make this whole thing 24 hours ahead. This made enough salad for about 10 people.

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
Two large packages spinach or one spinach + one mixed greens
One loaf of bread or one bag of 'bread for stuffing' cubes of dry day old bread (this was a variety pack and it was perfect)
dried cherries
dried cranberries
parmesan cheese, shaved or use a long zester to make strips, or just shred.
cayenne pepper
cinnamon
ground cloves
olive oil
salt
balsamic or lingonberry balsamic vinegar
1 large apple, diced just before serving
lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 425.  Toss bread in olive oil and salt and put on a rimmed baking sheet. On a separate sheet, toss sweet potato, olive oil, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and cloves and salt.  Roast bread 10-15 minutes until hard. Roast potato for 30 minutes or until tender, tossing in the middle if you remember.

2. Meanwhile, combine lettuces, cherries, cranberries, cheese, bread and a dash of salt in a bowl.
3. Make the dressing. In a lidded container add 1/2 C olive oil, 1/3 C vinegar, dash of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Shake and set aside
4. Remove potato from oven and toss into salad. Dice the apple and add.
5. You can either serve the dressing on the side or tossed. If you toss it, the bread gets a little soft and it is true panzanella.