A couple of
weeks ago we had the most glorious, searingly hot Sunday. With nothing in
particular to do, I spent the day pottering between the garden and the kitchen,
making salads and reading recipe books.
This salad
is based on the classic panzanella (bread salad) combination. It is perfect for
a hot summer’s day, especially with a chilled glass of rosé.
Bread salad ingredients
- 2 large, ripe tomatoes
- Half a yellow or orange pepper
- Half a cucumber
- About 8 pitted black olives
- Small bunch fresh mint
- 50g feta, ie 2 slices from a 200g pack (Waitrose feta is delicious)
- ¼ to ½ small red onion
- Small ciabatta loaf
Bread salad dressing ingredients
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Small clove garlic, crushed
Optional
- A few sprigs basil
- A few sprigs parsley
How to make bread salad
- Heat the grill to a medium setting
- Cut the ciabatta in half lengthways and rub with some olive oil
- Grill for a few minutes till lightly toasted
- Chop the tomatoes, pepper and cucumber into bite-sized chunks
- Half the olives
- Chop then onion very finely
- Chop the mint and parsley, tear the basil (chopping will bruise it)
- Add everything to a large bowl
- Chop half the feta into small cubes and add to the bowl
- Crumble the remaining feta and add that to the salad too
How to make the dressing
- Put the dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake to combine.
- Pour over the salad and mix everything thoroughly.
Finally...
- Break the toasted ciabatta into largeish chunks and add to the salad just before serving.
The
dressing will make the bread go soggy so this salad needs to be eaten straight
away.
Bread salad for lunch
If you’re
making this salad for lunch, you will need to keep the toasted bread in a
separate bag and add to the rest of the salad just before eating.
The bread
can make this salad quite heavy so leave it out if you prefer.
If you
still want your salad to be substantial, add a handful of cooked chickpea
instead of the bread.
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