Barefoot Bloggers: Panzanella

My lovely island. Yes, yes, that is a granite slab on my island. I'm in love with kneading dough on it. Don't tell Bimmer Man that though, he might not like it...
Drink a cold beer while cook. Or have a glass of wine, whatever to get you in the mood of chopping. No, I didn't not take pics of all the chopping, why you ask? Well, because there's more chopping of veggies here than anywhere!

Cut your bread into one inch pieces. Mine are larger. Ha.
Chop your veggies into one inch pieces. I LOVE Peppers, so this was a fabulous recipe!
And tomatoes... Mmm.... This is really a great summer meal by itself. Take it to a picnic, but don't add the bread until the last minute - I'm not a squishy bread person, so that's the only downside of this.
Then make the viniagrette. I couldn't find Champagne vinegar, so I used white wine vinegar. Tasted great - so don't just go out and buy it if you don't have the money.
Brown the bread in a HUGE pan on your stove over medium heat. It took me exactly 12 minutes to get all the bread toasty.

Toss everything.
Add the bread at the very last minute. No sogginess for me!
And the mess.
Don't forget to look at the Barefoot Blogger's blog. There's more recipes along with a whole list of who's who.

Ina's 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.

Enjoy!

PSH