Curried Panzanella Salad with Ricotta and Sesame

Stale bread. Happens to us all. And for someone who doesn't like to throw anything away, until it's growing its own fuzzy garden, it is a problem. Living on my own makes it difficult to finish a whole loaf in a decent amount of time, so after a few good peanut butter sandwiches, I'm usually left with a half-loaf of dry bread. French Toast and Bread Pudding are good options, but for dinner I thought I'd make bread salad.

This is a summery panzanella, filled with corn, spinach and whole wheat bread. I toasted the bread in big, rustic chunks on a skillet (although this could be done in the oven) with olive oil and roasted garlic. They went into a bowl of cooked sweet corn and spinach, and the whole thing got a dousing of curry powder, salt and pepper. Then on top goes a dusting of sesame seeds and a dollup of mixed ricotta and mozzarella. The toasted bread and sesame seeds add a terrific crunch to the juicy corn and silky spinach. The ricotta breaks apart as you eat it, adding a creaminess to every bite. The proportions of ingredients here are really guidelines; more spinach or less bread would still create a lovely salad; just use what's available.

Curried Panzanella Salad with Ricotta and Sesame
Ingredients:
2 ears corn
1/2 cup frozen spinach (or about 1 cup of fresh leaves)
1 TBSP olive oil
Half a loaf of bread, cut into roughly 1-inch square chunks. Your choice of bread type type (I used whole wheat)
1 bulb garlic, roasted and diced (or 2 TBSP minced garlic)
1 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper
1/2 cup ricotta
4 oz mozzarella, shredded
sesame seeds

Directions:
--Bring a pot of water to boil. Add corn and cook about four minutes, more if the ears are particularly large. Remove corn from pot but do not drain water out. Add frozen spinach into the water and cook two minutes, until leaves are fully defrosted and separated (or until fresh leaves are wilted). With a knife, cut kernels from the cob. Mix spinach with corn, 1/2 TBSP curry powder and salt and pepper to taste.
--Heat oil in a small skillet. Add 1/2 TBSP curry powder. Add bread and garlic and cook, stirring often, until bread is toasty and crisp on the outside, about four minutes.
--Mix ricotta and mozarella together. Add bread to corn mixture and stir. Divide into two bowls and top each with a scoop of ricotta. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.