Panzanella

I am going to begin this blog with my new favorite summer food, Panzanella. It sounds so wonderfully gourmet. Panzanella is an Italian salad made of fresh vegetables and day old bread. It's one of the simplest recipes I've ever made and it's practically fool-proof.  Throwing together this salad for a quick, light dinner after a long day at work is amazing! I've thrown cubes of cooked chicken breast into it to make it a fuller meal. I've also made a HUGE one for a picnic. It's so versatile. Recently, I made it for a little BBQ at my Mama's. Instead of toasting the bread in the oven, we brushed it with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper and then lightly grilled it. Heavenly is the only way to describe grilled bread. Alas, I did forget to add the red onion which was a disappointment in flavor but no one else seemed to notice.

On to the recipe:

For the dressing:

2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup good olive oil
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper

Whisk vigorously. (oops. too vigorous. The counter is well marinated now.)
Set this aside.

Salad:

2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
2 bell peppers, peeled and chopped (i like using orange and yellow ones for the colour
6-8 Campari tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, diced
8 oz container of small mozzarella balls, drained
10 good sized fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped or 1 tbsp dried basil

Combine all veggies, mozzarella and basil in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and mix thoroughly. I like to use clean hands to mix it all up. I feel like the dressing always gets distributed more evenly that way. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for at least an hour. Give the flavors some time to get well acquainted. Meanwhile, prepare the bread.

I am not fortunate enough to have the outdoor living space area with which to house a grill. If I did, I would always grill the bread. Since I don't, the oven is the next best thing. I cut the Italian bread into 1 inch cubes and throw them all into a large ziploc bag. In the bag, I also add a 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder and salt and pepper. Toss well. Pour the coated bread onto a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes, until the bread is lightly golden. Keeping the bread slightly soft in the middle adds to the yumminess. Let bread cool.

When you are ready to eat, put the bread cubes in the bottom of a bowl or on a plate and scoop the salad over the top. Make sure to pour some of the dressing all over it. Garnish with a sprig of basil and
Voila! Yum!