Panzanella – Barefoot Bloggers

For my second installment of Barefoot Bloggers I made Panzanella. I’ve never even heard of this before but hubby and I both loved it. The salad was very flavorful and colorful. Perfect for any summertime meal. The bread crutons got a little soggy by the end of the meal, so if I were traveling with this, I’d definitely add them at the last minute. Thanks Melissa for choosing this recipe. We’ll definitely be making this again sometime soon.

The best part of this salad is that with comes together so quickly. Hubby chopped all the veggies while I did the bread. Then we mixed it all together and sat down to eat.

Panzanella – from Barefoot Contessa Parties! (pg 102)
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons capers, drained

For the vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.