Greek Panzanella Salad

My mom and I made this tasty bread salad from House Beautiful’s Ask the Barefoot Contessa column last night.  (The recipe itself is not on House Beautiful’s website yet.)

Review = Yum.  I love bread salad, specifically, all the different textures and how the flavors soak into the bread.  This Greek version had a nice balance of crunch (cucumbers and bread), sweet (tomatoes, bell peppers), salty (olives), and tangy (onions, dressing).  Also it assuaged my guilt for not finishing really good Ciabatta from Bread and Cie.

Even with the simplest of recipes I often mess something up and this was no exception.  I usually toast in the oven and perfecting toasting on the stovetop is going to take me some time.  Though the oil was hot when I put the bread in, I felt the bread was soaking, not toasting.  Added a bit more heat and in the end had unevenly browned bread cube faces, including some charred faces.  Removed or salvaged charred cubes before making the salad.

Greek Panzanella Salad

Serves 6 [we halved it]

Good olive oil
6 cups (1-inch cubes) French or Italian bread, fresh or day old
1 hothouse cucumber (unpeeled)
1 red pepper, large-diced
1 yellow pepper, large-diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 small red onion, sliced in half-rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, cubed
1/2 cup Calamata olives, pitted

Vinaigrette

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add the bread and sprinkle with salt, cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a small spoon.  Discard the seeds and slice the cucumber 1/4 inch thick and place in a large bowl.  Add the red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes, and red onion.

Next, make the vinaigrette: Place the garliv, oregano, mustard, and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk together.  Whisking constantly, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper and taste for seasoning.

Add the feta, olives, and cooked bread cubes to the bowl with the salad and add the vinaigrette and toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.  Serve at room temperature.

TIp:

Freeze stale bread.  I just use a huge Ziploc and toss in scraps when I have them.  Then you have the basis of bread salad (just cube and toast the bread, toss in whatevervegis you have around, add dressing = meal) or bread pudding (flavor and heat some milk/cream, add cubed bread, add egg or not, let marinade for a while, bake, my fav savory version).  Depending on the staleness/defrostedness, the bread may require some sawing in order to cube.

Also, if you’re going to try the skillet toasting route, defrost first.  When I’m toasting in the oven though I don’t worry about it.

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