Celebrate summer with this fresh Italian bread salad full of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. The other morning I woke up and came downstairs, then turned to look out my stair window that faces my front courtyard gate and noticed a little grocery bag tied to the gate. I carefully opened and peered into the bag (I’ve had negative experiences before and wanted to be oh so careful). And what did I find but a bunch of fresh bread from my sweet neighbor, Nancy. One of the loaves was a Parmesan focaccia loaf that I immediately thought to turn into this delicious salad. I found some great yellow tomatoes and ripe red tomatoes at our local grocery store for this salad. I also added some olives and balsamic vinegar for more of a bite. Keep in mind, this recipe does make the bread a little moist, so if you don’t like wet bread (like my husband) you’ll hate it. Be sure to use at least day old bread, so the bread is already dry, and will be perfect for this recipe. Most Panzanella recipes contain cucumbers, sweet onions, tomatoes and basil. Beyond those ingredients, you can just use your imagination to add whatever you like.
Yield: Serves 4
2 yellow tomatoes, diced
2 red tomatoes, diced
2 cucumbers, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 can green olives, drained
a small bunch of basil, torn
day old bread, diced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
kosher salt
pepper
Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, basil and bread in a large bowl. Ad balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Toss to combine Season with salt and pepper to taste.
