Panzanella

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
1.5 pound tomatoes, chopped  
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped basil or parsley
8 ounces loaf of a crusty bread
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomatoes, onion, garlic and basil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

2. Cut the bread into 1 inch thick slices. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, toast the bread slices for 3 minutes on each side until the bread starts to brown. Transfer the toasted bread to the cutting board.

3. Once the bread is cool enough to cut but still warm, chop the bread into cubes and immediately mix into the tomato mixture. 

4. Set aside the salad for 10 minutes to allow the bread to absorb the juices from the tomato. 

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Quick Tips

• Any tomato variety will work well with this recipe. Heirloom tomatoes will give the salad assortment of colors. Cherry tomatoes will make salad sweeter. Even over ripe tomatoes can be used for this recipe. 

• Both raw and cooked tomatoes have a lot of nutritional value. Raw tomatoes are higher in Vitamin C while cooked tomatoes are higher in lycopene. 

• When choosing a tomato, look for firm fruits that have a floral aroma. The best way to store tomatoes is at room temperature.