Panzanella Salad

Ingredients

• 2-3 lb of assorted tomatoes (cherry or full-sized), trimmed and cubed (or halved for cherry tomatoes)
• 1 mild onion, thinly sliced
• 1 loaf of ciabatta or similar crusty bread (tip: save up stale bread and heels in the freezer!), cubed and tossed with a bit of olive oil and salt, then toasted in the oven until very golden brown and crispy
• 1 cucumber, trimmed, seeded, and sliced
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 Tbsp good wine vinegar
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed
• salt and pepper

1. In a large bowl, lightly salt the tomatoes and allow them to rest while you slice the rest of the vegetables.

2. Drain the tomatoes. Toss in the rest of the sliced veggies, basil leaves, olive oil, and vinegar. Check for seasoning (salt) and add more salt to taste if desired. Add a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Toss in the bread cubes and stir to coat. Serve at room temperature.

Note: This dish is served best when it has a little time to marinate and soften the bread a bit. Make it a little ahead of time, but don’t worry about needing to chill it.

Second note: The base salad is just tomatoes, onions, bread, basil, and vinaigrette. You can add other ingredients that you like such as peaches, garlic, parsley, olives, etc. to change it up.