Panzanella
/Bread Lovers: you can all rest easy as I have provided a solution for your day old, slightly stale bread. Or perhaps I have simply given you another excuse to eat too much bread at dinnertime.
Panzanella (bread salad) is a simple salad that can be quickly thrown together and everyone seems to love it (or at least they pretend to love it and ask for the recipe). It's great when you're having friends over for dinner to serve along barbecue chicken or sausages in the summertime. I suppose you could say this is a great summertime salad.
- 6 cups, toasted bread, cut into bite sided pieces
- Assorted vegetables (we used 2 bell peppers, yellow and red, 1 cucumber, 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup of assorted olives, see recipe for other additions you may use.)
- 1 cup feta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil for toasting the bread
- pinch of salt
For the vinaigrette:
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
First, take your day old bread and cut it into strips, then into bite sized pieces.
Place a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat, once it's hot, add the pieces of bread and lightly toast them. I also put a small amount of salt into the bread mixture.
Meanwhile, start cutting up your vegetables of choice. We chose assorted bell peppers, cucumbers and assorted olives we picked up at Costco. You may also use tomatoes, red onions and even basil. I prefer to use cherry tomatoes so I don't have to chop them. Chopped tomatoes equal soggy bread which is no good. You can even use fruit such as plums.
Mix up your salad dressing and add it to the ingredients.
What is your favorite recipe to make during the summer for a social gathering? Let us know in the comments below!
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