We love this idea from Ardor Restaurant, located in the West Hollywood Edition hotel in Los Angeles.

This vegetable-forward restaurant uses organic ingredients, prepared simply but (as you can tell from the photo), impressively.

We’d also like to give a shout out to Chef John Fraser, a California native whose cuisine enthralled us when he helmed restaurants in New York City.

Here’s our copycat recipe of his beet “rose.”
 
 
RECIPE: ROASTED BEET ROSE SALAD

Chef Fraser serves this beet “rose” with whipped feta cheese and rose water. We used whipped goat cheese and basil olive oil.

You can substitute hummus or Greek yogurt spread.

The goat cheese or feta spreads are delicious on vegetable sandwiches (especially tomato and basil), crackers, atop baked potatoes, and most anything.

To roast the beets, we used this recipe from Ina Garten.

Ingredients

 
For The Salad

 
Preparation

You can roast the beets and/or make the whipped goat cheese a day in advance.

1. ROAST the beets and cool. Set aside.

2. MAKE the goat cheese spread. Mince the garlic and add it with the rest of the ingredients, except the chives, to a food processor.

3. PULSE until completely combined. Stir in the chives. Set aside.

[1] Beet rose salad, inspired by Ardor Restaurant (photo © Ardor | Los Angeles)

[2] For this special salad, look for special greens (photo of mizuna mix © Good Eggs).

[3] Herbed goat cheese (photo © iGourmet).

5. PLACE the whipped goat cheese into a serving dish or ramekin.

6. TOSS the salad very lightly with the vinaigrette and mound onto the center of a large plate or small platter.

7. MAKE an opening in the center of the salad and arrange the beets into “rose petals.” Start with the center petals and work out. If you have extra chives (cut or uncut), place them in the very middle, where the stamens would be.

8. DRIZZLE the beets with a small amount of basil, lemon or orange olive oil. Serve.

[1] Spring Panzanella Salad, an Italian classic (photo © Tending The Table | California Olive Ranch).

[2] A panzanella with a glass of white wine is a lovely summer lunch. Add the protein of your choice (photo: The Nibble).

[3] Radicchio is a member of the chicory family (photo: The Nibble).

[4] Arbequina EVOO (photo © California Olive Ranch).

[5] A spoonful of Dijon mustard elevates a plain vinaigrette, and can do wonders for other dressings, too (photo © Maille).

Updated June 2026

We love all kinds of bread, and that includes biscuits, pizza crusts, and the crunchy category: croutons, crackers, matzo, roti—you get the picture.

When leftover baguette and rustic loaves begin to dry out, we turn to a great Italian tradition: panzanella, a bread salad that turns stale* bread into homemade croutons, the start of a delicious salad.

It started out as peasant food, when every scrap of food counted, including hardened, leftover bread.

In the Tuscan tradition, the bread was cubed into large croutons that were soaked in vinaigrette to soften them, then tossed with greens and other vegetables from the garden.

Today, in an era where most of us can toss the stale bread, the process is slightly different. Just toast cubes of day-old bread to make croutons.

Panzanella can be a side salad, a first course, or a main course. It can be vegetarian or topped with proteins.

Below:

> Spring panzanella salad recipe.

> More panzanella recipes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of panzanella.

> The history of bread.

> The different types of bread: a photo glossary.
 
> The year’s 20+ bread holidays.

> The year’s 40+ salad holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: SPRING PANZANELLA SALAD

Thanks to California Olive Ranch, producers of wonderful EVOOs for this recipe, which they adapted from one by Sasha Swerdloff of Tending The Table.

California Olive Ranch recommends Arbequina olive oil in the dressing.

They like the Arbequina olive varietal because of its subtle fruitiness and herbal notes. Those flavors pair nicely with fresh produce.

When you buy a blended olive oil that tastes fruity, that flavor is most likely contributed by Arbequina olives.

Ingredients For 2 Mains or 4 Sides

For The Croutons

Breads that make the best croutons are sourdough, French bread or rustic Italian bread loaves that are a few days old. However, if you only have a sandwich loaf is available, the croutons will still be very tasty—just not as crunchy.

 
For The Dressing

 
For The Salad

 

[6] Customize panzanella with seasonal ingredients. This one, with roasted delicata squash, is ready for fall (photo © Good Eggs).

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F.

2. PREPARE the bread: Toss the bread, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper in the extra virgin olive oil, adding more as needed. Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet and toast until crisp, 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

3. MAKE the dressing: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until emulsified. Season to taste and set aside.

4. ASSEMBLE the salad base: Combine the greens, snap peas, sunflower seeds, and parmesan cheese in a large salad bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat, then top with the croutons.

5. FINISH with an extra drizzle of olive oil, as desired. Serve and enjoy!
 
 
MORE PANZANELLA RECIPES

 

[8] Spring panzanella with asparagus. Here’s the recipe (photo © Good Eggs).
 
________________

*When the bread has no preservatives, we’ve found that one day or two days after purchase is fine for croutons. By the third day, the bread tends to be rock-hard and we can’t slice it. When this happens, though, stick it in the food processor and make high-quality breadcrumbs.
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

We are big fans of the turkey products from Diestel Family Ranch, a premier breeder of whole turkeys and other turkey treats. There are:

 
Why are Diestel products better?

The company is committed to raising the leanest, cleanest, most delicious birds that money can buy. The meat is succulent and tender.

There are no artificial ingredients or preservatives, no hormones, antibiotics, or growth stimulants.

Everything is produced according to strict animal welfare and environmental standards. The birds are raised in generous spaces where they can roam (photo #5).

And for 70 years, this has been a family business—now in the fourth generation. Great people, great products.
 
 
WHAT’S NEW: TURKEY MEATLOAF

One of America’s favorite comfort foods is now on the menu: one-pound turkey meatloaf, ready to heat and eat.

They let you put dinner on the table in 20 minutes or less.

There are two varieties:

 
Both fully cooked loaves are made from premium coarse-ground turkey, and have a sweet tomato glaze.

The SRP for a 16-ounce meatloaf is is $8.99 in stores, $13.95 online.
 
 
WHAT IS SOUS VIDE?

Sous vide (soo VEED, meaning “under vacuum”) is a French cooking technique, used in professional kitchens for some time but now becoming more popular in American kitchens.

It is used by the greatest chefs to assure consistency in turning out fine meals. Portions are prepared in individual, sealed plastic bags that are cooked in a water bath.

This ensures perfectly cooked meat, tender and moist. Here’s more about it.
 
 
ANOTHER FAVORITE: TURKEY BREAST

We like roast turkey more often than Thanksgiving or or Christmas dinners.

While we don’t need a whole turkey, Diestel’s Holiday Turkey is always a treat.

It’s available year-round: a cook-in-bag boneless turkey breast that comes brined, seasoned and ready to roast.

And it’s soooo good.

So don’t wait until the holidays: Cook one now!
 
 
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DIESTEL PRODUCTS

Visit the company website, DiestelTurkey.com.

See the family and the turkeys for yourself.

The products are available at retailers nationwide, but you can also order them on the website.

[1] Diestel Traditional Turkey Meatloaf (all photos © Diestel).

[2] The package to look for.

[3] Diestel Florentine Meatloaf.

[4] The package to look for.

[5] Diestel turkeys, enjoying their day.