Name: Cantaloupe Tomato Panzanella Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 6 slices Italian bread (cut into bite sized pieces); olive oil (for drizzling); salt and pepper (to taste); 1 medium cucumber (cut in half and thinly sliced); 1 large tomato (chopped); 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced); 3 cups cantaloupe (cut into bite sized pieces); 1/4 cup olive oil; the juice of 1/2 a lemon; 1 garlic clove (minced or pressed (paid link)); pinch salt; pinch ground pepper

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Note: I was given a box of produce from Penn Farm and used some of the produce in order to make this Cantaloupe Tomato Panzanella Salad recipe. Opinions are mine alone.

One of my favorite things about this blog is the opportunity to spotlight amazing restaurants, ingredients, and food organizations when I come across them. So when I heard about this CSA, I knew I had to share their amazing story ASAP, even if it is toward the end of the CSA season (note: bookmark this post so you have all the info you need to sign up for this CSA next year!) I also have an awesome recipe for Cantaloupe Tomato Panzanella Salad that shows off the bounty of Penn Farm’s CSA, so be sure to check that out at the end of the post!

Source: https://www.colonialschooldistrict.org/pennfarm/

William Penn High School is a public high school in New Castle, Delaware, where students enrolled in the school’s Agriculture classes help maintain a farm nearby the school. Historic Penn Farm has been a tenant farm since its inception in the late 1700s, and the 100-acre farm is the last surviving farm of the original tenant farms. William Penn High School, through a partnership with the Trustees of the New York Commons, continues the legacy of Historic Penn Farm while educating students on agriculture and also supporting the local community.

William Penn High School’s “Farm-to-School” program gives students the opportunity to learn how to grow produce from seeds, maintain the farm throughout the growing season, and help to harvest everything at the end of the season.

Article: https://www.ffa.org/chapter-focus/william-penn/

Some of the produce is utilized in other programs within William Penn High School; agriculture students work directly with the school’s culinary students, nutrition services, and science students. Local produce from Penn Farm becomes delicious meals enjoyed by the rest of the student body. In addition to vegetables, other animal products such as eggs are also produced and used in school nutritional programs throughout the district.

Source: https://www.colonialschooldistrict.org/pennfarm/

All produce on Penn Farm is grown from non-GMO seeds and is grown following organic practices. The farm harvests A LOT of produce, so Penn Farm also offers a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) each year. The 10-week CSA at Penn Farm lasts from late June through August, where those who buy a share receive a fresh produce box each week. Each box is chock full of vegetables, enough to feed a family of four for a week! Sign-ups each season open in the spring. I received the following in my box this week (note: the cantaloupe had to go it its own photo because it was bigger than my head!):

Source: https://www.colonialschooldistrict.org/pennfarm/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/02/2023-CSA-Brochure.pdf

The CSA offering is a great way for Penn Farm, William Penn High School, and Colonial School District to provide a valuable service to the local community. In return, purchasing a CSA share serves as a method of monetary support for Penn Farm and the Agriculture Programs at William Penn High School.

To show off some of this beautiful produce, I knew I had to go for a summer classic: Panzanella Salad! This Cantaloupe Tomato Panzanella Salad highlights the cantaloupe, tomatoes, and cucumbers from my Pann Farm CSA Share, plus helped me use up some leftover Italian bread I had!

Ingredients:

Salad:

6 slices Italian bread, cut into bite sized pieces
olive oil, for drizzling
salt and pepper, to taste
1 medium cucumber, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 cups cantaloupe, cut into bite sized pieces

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
the juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed (paid link)
pinch salt
pinch ground pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Add the bread pieces to a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat, then spread out on the cookie sheet in one even layer.

Add to your oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until toasted. Set aside.

While the bread toasts, slice your cucumber and add to a large bowl.

Next, add in the chopped tomato.

Follow with the thinly sliced red onion.

Finish with the cantaloupe.

To make the dressing, add the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic clove, salt, and pepper to a small jar. Screw on the top and shake to combine.

Drizzle over the salad ingredients, tossing to coat.

Add in the toasted bread pieces, tossing to combine.

This salad brings a little bit of everything to create a cohesive, super tasty dish. You get some sweetness from the cantaloupe, some acid from the tomato, a little bit of spiciness from the red onion, some freshness from the cucumber, and some saltiness and texture from the toasted bread.

Panzanella salad is a quintessential summer dish, so this recipe goes from good to great with high quality ingredients. Using Penn Farm’s produce really enhanced this recipe!

I already can’t wait until next season so I can sign up for my own Penn Farm CSA. Expect to see plenty of their produce in my recipes next summer!