Tuscan Panzanella

This is to die for.  I know that doesn't sound too humble, but it wasn't my recipe....so I guess I can say that.  I stumbled upon this in an old cookbook, Easy Summer Food, and happened to have every ingredient on hand.  I keep a well stocked pantry, but that doesn't usually happen! 

Panzanella is a Tuscan dish, hence the title.  It's a salad with crusty bread, roasted tomatoes and other fresh veggies with an olive oil and vinegar dressing. Yum. 

Ingredients:

-6 very ripe tomatoes (you'll notice I was a few short)

-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

-5-6 slices of Italian bread, preferably a few days old

-1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped

-1/4 red onion, chopped

-1 Tbsp chopped Italian/flat leaf parsley

-1/2 cup oliv oil

-2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

-handful of basil, roughly torn

-3 Tbsp capers, rinsed and drained

-1 tsp balsamic vinegar (optional)

-sea salt and freshly ground pepper

First roast the tomatoes at 350 degrees.  Halve each tomato and poke each with a few garlic slices.  Bake for an hour. 

While the tomatoes are roasting, chop the cucumber, onion, and parsley. You can either chop or roughly tear the basil.

Now toast the bread. In a grill pan coated with olive oil spray and over medium-heat add the bread.  Toast for a few minutes on each side.

Tear up the bread into bite-sized pieces. Put in a medium bowl and either spray or sprinkle a little water on the bread to help it soften.  Add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil, and white wine vinegar to the bowl. Use a fork and knife to tear up the tomatoes. Toss well until evenly coated and let sit in room temperature for an hour to let the flavors meld. 

Rinse and dry the capers.  Add to the capers and basil to the salad.  Sprinkle lightly with the balsamic vinegar if you would like.  

Now, devour! I'm not sure how well this saves because Lee and I finished it all in one night.  

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