Name: Panzanella Salad Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2-3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 fat garlic clove, smashed; 4 cups French bread, focaccia country bread, or crusty sourdough, cut into 1-inch cubes. Day old, even better!; 1 ½ pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges or bite sized pieces ( about 2 cups); 1 medium hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, sliced to 1/2-inch thick half moons; 1 bunch radishes, sliced ( or sub 1 bell pepper); ¼ of a red onion, very thinly sliced; 20 basil leaves, torn; 3 tablespoons Red Wine or Champagne vinegar; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; ⅓-½ cup good olive oil; 1 finely minced garlic clove (optional); salt and pepper to taste

Description

A simple delicious recipe for Summer Panzanella Salad ( Italian Bread Salad) with Garlicky pan-seared croutons, summer tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, radishes and fresh basil leaves.

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 fat garlic clove, smashed
4 cups French bread, focaccia country bread, or crusty sourdough, cut into 1-inch cubes. Day old, even better!
1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges or bite sized pieces ( about 2 cups)
1 medium hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, sliced to 1/2-inch thick half moons
1 bunch radishes, sliced ( or sub 1 bell pepper)
1/4 of a red onion, very thinly sliced
20 basil leaves, torn

Panzanella Salad Dressing

3 tablespoons Red Wine or Champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3-1/2 cup good olive oil
1 finely minced garlic clove (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat olive oil in an extra large skillet over med-low heat. Add the smashed garlic clove and swirl the oil around with it for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and the garlic is golden. Remove the garlic from the pan and add the cubes of bread tossing to coat well. Season the bread with salt and pepper. Toast the bread in the delicious smelling garlic oil, stirring often for about 10 minutes until beautifully golden.
While the bread is toasting in the pan, prep the veggies and place in a large serving bowl.
When the bread is golden and crispy let it cool for a few minutes, then add it to the bowl.
Drizzle the salad with olive oil, vinegar, lemon, garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss until well combine. Taste, adjust salt, and add a bit more olive oil if necessary.
Let this stand 15-20 minutes before serving. Right before serving toss in the torn basil leaves.
Enjoy!

Notes

This salad is especially delicious with summer vine-ripened tomatoes. Feel free to add other veggies. Mini mozzarella balls are nice here, as well as capers.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 241
Sugar: 2.6 g
Sodium: 11.4 mg
Fat: 23.5 g
Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
Carbohydrates: 5.2 g
Fiber: 1.3 g
Protein: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg