Panzanella (Tomato and Bread Salad)

[QSis]

My part-time roommate stays with me 2-3 nights a week. She ALWAYS brings a loaf of French bread, a baguette or fresh crusty rolls, and I'm not much of a bread-eater, but I hate to toss food out.

Tonight, I made a simple panzanella, which I LOVE!!!

I used:
- half a loaf of French bread, cubed,
- four small garden tomatoes, cubed
- some thinly sliced red onion
- chiffonaded basil

Tossed together with a mixture of 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/8 cup red wine vinegar, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Served this as a side with my beloved store-bought rotisserie chicken.

MAN! This was a great after-work meal!

Lee

 

[lifesaver91958]

Dang! that looks good.

 

[lilbopeep]

That looks fantastic Lee. I have never had that before. I usually just have tomato salad with the bread on the side to dip. This sounds wonderful.

 

[QSis]

Thanks, LS and Peep.

Peep, this is a good way to use up French bread that's a day or two old. The dressing and juice of the tomatoes moistens the bread and it's delicious!

Lee

 

[Carolina Cooking]

love this salad. I made it a lot.
when I could eat bread.

when I lived in Md, my neighbor from Boston would go up on business & brng back on the plane. some place had the best chinese food in the world.can you amagine the other folks saying whats that smell.
then the bread. omg he brought back bread. like we didn't already have the greatest bread from all the ethnic bakerys in Baltimore. I was at the time getting my sourdough right from San FranCa. by UPS. then Boston bread. wow I was in love.

 

[QSis]

Bump!

This time I used scallions, and I drizzled a little Good Seasons Italian salad dressing on the bread salad.

Can't wait to be using my own homegrown tomatoes for this! My basil is ready - just waiting for the tomatoes to catch up!

Lee

 

[QSis]

Haven't made this for awhile, but I had half a loaf of Italian bread and lots of tomatoes and basil, and a small chunk of mozzarella.

I used the NYTimes recipe this time, and although I liked the toasted bread cubes better than non-toasted, I had to add Good Seasonings Italian dressing for flavor.

I'll stick with the Good Seasonings from now on.

Lee

 

[QSis]

I made the NYTimes recipe again, as I had all the ingredients - just scaled it down with 2 tomatoes and a sub roll. I had leftover mortadella and prosciutto from the weekend, so tossed that in to make a dinner salad. Served over a bed of red-leaf lettuce.

With a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon.

Leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Lee