Cranberry Jalapeno Cornbread Panzanella Salad

I am so excited to be participating in another Cape Cod Select Premium Cranberry recipe challenge. This year the Cape Cod Select Summer Breeze Recipe Blogger Challenge is looking for creative and delicious recipes that highlight their Non-GMO gorgeous cranberries. Cape Cod Select is a small women-owned family business that has been growing cranberries for more than 75 years. These are literally the prettiest, sweetest cranberries I've ever used, and they generously sent me 2 huge bags to cook with! 

For my first entry, I made a Cranberry Jalapeno Cornbread Panzanella Salad. Sweet and spicy cornbread croutons are tossed with roasted Brussels sprouts, chopped bacon, crisp pistachios and a maple apple cider vinaigrette. The cornbread can be made ahead, it's delicious at room temp, and the flavors really shine the longer it sits. That means it's the perfect dish to serve when entertaining since you won't be worried about serving it hot or as soon as your guests arrive.

Look at those crispy croutons!

Cranberry Jalapeno Cornbread Panzanella Salad

1 (8.5 ounce) box cornbread mix

1 egg

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh jalapenos

1 cup CapeCod Select Premium Cranberries, roughly chopped

1 pound Brussels sprouts

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon

¼ cup chopped pistachios        

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the cornbread mix, egg, buttermilk and chopped jalapenos in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth. Pour the batter into a well-greased 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle the cranberries on top of the batter and, using the back of a spatula, press them down into the batter. Bake for 25 minutes.  

While the cornbread cools, prepare the Brussels sprouts. Raise the temperature of the oven to 425 degrees. Trim the stem ends of the Brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise, and then toss them in a very large mixing bowl with 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil, ½ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Pour them on a large foil-lined cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes.

In the same large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup.

While the Brussels sprouts are roasting, cut the cornbread into 1-inch cubes. Once the Brussels sprouts are roasted, remove them from the oven and place them back into the mixing bowl with the dressing.  

Lay the cubed cornbread squares onto the same cookie sheet and spray liberally with nonstick cooking spray. Place in the oven and toast for about 10-12 minutes.

Add the crumbled bacon and chopped pistachios to the marinating Brussels sprouts. Gently stir in the toasted cornbread croutons and serve immediately.

If you'd like to order their frozen cranberries for yourself, you can go HERE

To follow along for recipes and ideas you can find Cape Cod Select on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest

#capecodselect #frozencranberries #cranberriesforallseasons