BB: Panzanella

This round of Barefoot Bloggers is Panzanella courtesy of Melissa of It's Melissa's Kitchen. This is my first time making panzanella but it seemed fairly easy. Chop some veggies and toast bread cubes then mix. Voila! Tasty salad!

That said, I knew right away that I was going to leave out the onion and bell peppers. I'm not big fans of them to begin with but I can eat them as long as they are cooked. Since the only thing that was going near heat was the bread, I decided to leave them out. I don't have a problem with raw cucumbers so that was not going to be a problem.

Well...I thought it wasn't going to be a problem until I got home from the grocery store. I thought I had grabbed a cucumber but no...I had a zucchini. Well shoot. I had already started the bread and the tomato so I had to just use it. I like zucchini but I had already nixed two of the veggies in the recipe so I almost felt like I was making something else. But it was too late to go back to the store....le sigh. Next time I'll get it right!

It was quite tasty though the vinaigrette left a kind of tangy after taste in my mouth. This is not something I normally eat but I did enjoy it. It made a good lunch the next day even though the bread was sort of soggy. It is definitely not a dish for multiple meals during the week. Not sure if I will make again but it nice to try something new!

To see more Panzanella, check out the other Barefoot Bloggers here.

Panzanella

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.

Source: Food Network.com