wild mushroom panzanella salad

I had a salad like this a restaurant once, and have been craving it ever since. It turns the typical summery panzanella salad (with fresh tomatoes, basil, lemon, and mozzarella) into a celebration of fall. It's perfect as a starter, but to turn this into an entree, just add some shredded rotisserie chicken.

Serves 4 as an entree or 6 as a starter

For salad:

6 cups sourdough bread, cut into large cubes
4 cups wild mushroom mix (creminis, oyster, shitake, etc.)
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 cups arugula
4 celery stalks, sliced diagonally, not too thinly
1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and then sliced thickly
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper

For vinaigrette:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread bread cubes onto a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season cubes with salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat. Bake cubes for 10-15 minutes or until toasted. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

While cubes are baking, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When oil shimmers, add mushrooms and celery. Cook for 10 minutes until mushrooms are just browning. Lower heat to medium, then add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and thyme to pan and continue to cook until onions are translucent, about another 10 minutes. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Remove from heat once cooked and allow to cool slightly, discarding thyme stems.

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients. Toss bread cubes, vegetable mixture, arugula, and goat cheese with vinaigrette in a large salad bowl. Allow salad to stand for 10 minutes before serving to allow vinaigrette to soak in. Serve warm.