041 / 75 · Cook Once, Keep It Interesting
Chicken, White Bean and Roasted Pepper Panzanella Boxes
4 salad meals; each includes one quarter of all bread, chicken, beans, vegetables and dressing · Active 30 min · Cook 25 min · Total 1 hr
Print recipe · PDFThis bread salad borrows the idea of panzanella while adding plain roast chicken and white beans for a substantial carried meal. Red pepper roasts from raw, bread cubes toast separately, and the fresh vegetables stay cool. It begins with already cooked chicken and beans. Keep the crisp bread apart until eating if the four portions are being packed ahead.
Toast bread, not packing liquid
Plain whole-wheat bread makes a useful base because its weight is easy to measure before toasting. Cut it into even cubes and give it its own tray. The pepper releases water as it roasts, so it should not share the bread tray. Turn the cubes once and let them cool on the tray before sealing them in a container. They should be dry on the outside and still pleasant to bite through, not tiny hard croutons. The dressing can soften them at the table without turning a packed salad into wet crumbs.
Start with properly kept cooked ingredients
The chicken and beans are deliberate starting ingredients, weighed after cooking and draining. Plain skinless roast breast is different from sliced deli chicken with added sauce. Use components cooked today or yesterday, promptly chilled, and never leave them on the counter while the oven works. The white beans should be tender but intact. Drain them well so their cooking water does not dilute the dressing. Do not count the salad-making day as a new starting date for older chicken or beans; their original storage clocks still apply.
Pack four meals as parts of one recipe
Set out four roomy containers before dividing the ingredients. Each gets its share of chicken, beans, cucumber, tomato and cooled roasted pepper. Share the dressing into four small pots and put the toasted bread in separate dry containers. Add torn basil when packing or just before eating. At the table, combine one full set and let it stand for about five minutes, so the dressing enters the bread while the cubes retain some structure. All the dressing and all the bread belong to the stated portion, even when they travel in separate pots.
Ingredients
- 6 1/3 oz plain whole-wheat bread (180 g), cut into 3/4-inch/2 cm cubes
- 1 large red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, cut into broad strips (200 g edible raw weight)
- 12 3/4 oz plain roast chicken breast, skin and bones removed, cut into bite-size pieces (360 g cooked edible weight)
- 14 oz plain cooked white beans, boiled until tender, drained and cooled (400 g cooked edible weight)
- 1/2 large cucumber, diced (150 g)
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced (200 g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (30 ml/27 g), divided
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (30 ml/30 g)
- A small handful fresh basil, torn (8 g)
- About 1/3 teaspoon fine salt (2 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (1 g)
Set out
Kitchen scale, two rimmed baking trays and oven mitts, Knife, board, mixing bowl and whisk, Four lidded meal containers, at least 1 qt/1 liter each, Four small leakproof dressing pots and dry containers for bread
Allergens
Wheat, Check the actual bread for milk, soy, sesame or other declared allergens.. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Use chicken and beans cooked today or yesterday and promptly refrigerated at 40°F/4°C or below; their earlier cooking is not included in this recipe's 60 minutes. Keep them chilled while the oven heats to 425°F/220°C. Put pepper strips on one tray with 2 teaspoons/10 ml oil. Roast for 20–25 minutes, turning once, until tender and browned in patches. Retain their softened skins and all edible strips.
- On a separate tray toss bread cubes with 1 teaspoon/5 ml oil. Bake for 10–12 minutes, turning after 6 minutes, until dry-edged and lightly golden. Keep ready-to-eat ingredients away from any raw-food preparation. Cool pepper and bread on their separate trays for about 15 minutes while preparing the cold vegetables.
- Whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon/15 ml oil with all the vinegar, salt and black pepper. Divide the complete dressing among four small pots. Divide all chicken, drained cooked beans, cucumber, tomatoes and cooled pepper among four 1-liter containers. Divide basil over them. Keep chilled if not eating immediately.
- Divide all cooled toasted bread among four dry containers. For each serving, combine one salad portion, one bread portion and one entire dressing pot. Toss and stand for about 5 minutes, then eat. For immediate serving, mix the whole batch and divide equally among four plates.
A packed meal with an intact texture
Portioning bread and dressing separately takes two small extra containers but protects the meal through a commute or training session. Label the boxes with the original chicken and bean cooking dates so the earliest safe deadline is visible.
A useful detail
Chicken and beans are weighed cooked, not raw or canned with liquid. The estimate uses USDA cooked roast breast and cooked boiled white beans. Bread is weighed before toasting. This is a modern chicken-and-bean bread salad rather than a claim to a traditional regional formula.
Another way
- Replace the 150 g cucumber with 150 g trimmed raw fennel, sliced very thinly.
- Use 8 g chopped parsley instead of basil for a different fresh finish. Variations are outside the base estimate.
Keep it well
Refrigerate chicken, beans, vegetables and dressing at 40°F/4°C or below. Use within 2 days of assembly and no later than 3 days after either chicken or beans were originally cooked, whichever comes first. Cool roasted pepper promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Store cooled bread separately in a dry airtight container and follow the bread package. Carry perishable components with two cold sources and refrigerate on arrival. Combine only the portion to be eaten; this salad is intended to be eaten cold.