This post was created in partnership with La Brea Bakery. All opinions are my own, including my obsession with their Take & Bake ciabatta rolls, which make summertime grilling extra delicious.

As I walked up the steps to my current rental, my would-be landlord asked me one question before we even stepped through the front door: “I’ve been thinking of building a deck up here. It would just be yours. What do you think?” Is this a trick question, I wondered? “That sounds amazing,” I replied, trying not to sound too manically excited. Nobody had ever built me a deck before, nor had I ever been entrusted with an outdoor space with which to do whatever I pleased. I entertained visions of jasmine vines and lavender, a place to spend long summer evenings. Nights under the stars. What did I think? I thought a resounding yes.

Two months later, I was moved in and said landlord began the deck build. Aesthetic control freak that I am, I was nervous that I had no idea what he had planned, or what it would look like. I didn’t want to look this gift horse in the mouth, so I had to rely on the beauty of the existing home he’d built to convince myself it would, most likely, be ok. Within a few weeks, the deck was done and I was euphoric. It was beautiful, a simple redwood space for me to make my own, looking east into the Santa Monica Mountains. All that was left to do was put something on it.

Ideally, I wanted a place where I could lounge and read and eat and drink, a spot where friends would want to convene and let loose the worries of the day. All within a space about 10-feet by 11-feet. I also thought—being a card-carrying, deck-possessing adult in California—I should probably acquire a grill. To clarify: My vegetarian upbringing on Maui involved nary a grill, and before this new adventure into deck life, I’d never operated one myself. Because I wasn’t working with a ton of space, I decided to go for a mini grill, which has served me well already.

This summer, I’ve been particularly smitten with grilling stone fruit for savory purposes. Here, I combined grilled white and yellow nectarines with the hearty crumb of La Brea Bakery’s Take & Bake ciabatta rolls. Because La Brea’s Take & Bake breads are just shy of fully baked, the grill is the perfect tool to deliver pillowy, crusty, freshly baked goodness. In keeping with ciabatta’s Italian roots, I decided to turn my olive oil-grilled nectarines and ciabatta into a panzanella salad.

If this is your first adventure with a panzanella, you are in for a glorious treat. Panzanella salads are traditionally made with tomatoes, onions, and crusty day-old bread that soaks up all the juicy, vinegary goodness. Here, I’m foregoing day-old bread for freshly grilled ciabatta, and replacing the onions with a shallot vinaigrette. Shaved fennel, diced cucumber, summer’s sweetest heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and mint, and feta also join the party. It’s a veritable salad rager. Welcome.

The best part about a panzanella is that it’s designed to get better with age—panzanellas ideally sit for a while to allow their flavors to marry (and that day-old bread to soften). Since we’re using freshly grilled bread, there’s no need to wait as long before eating, but you can rest easy knowing that if your outdoor galavanting runs amok, the salad will still be good. No danger of wilting.

I’ll be sharing the entire deck design and decoration process with you soon, but for now, we panzanella. And may we all be so blessed to experience the delights of freshly grilled bread this summer.

Nota bene: Feel free to experiment with using different stone fruits (peaches, plums, apricots) and other veggies in the panzanella. Add nuts or seeds. Try different herbs. Be free. Make this your own. Breathe deep and enjoy your outdoor cooking adventure.

 

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