Panzanella Bread Salad

I first had this Italian peasant style dish at a picnic that Jaime and I attended. I was dubious of it at first because I didn't really care for raw tomatoes at that time but I tried it, and boy was I glad. It's everything that's good about Italian food, all in one simple salad. The hum of garlic, the zing of red wine vinegar, the smooth fruitiness of the extra virgin olive oil, and the herby goodness of basil. Hope you like it!

• One loaf of dense, crusty bread (Italian or French is best)
• 1/2 - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 - 1 cup red wine vinegar (balsamic vinegar can also be used)
• 1 pint container of cherry or grape tomatoes
• 10 mozzarella cheese sticks (fresh mozzarella can be used if you prefer)
• 1 bunch of basil (10 leaves or so)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Kosher salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper

1. Cube bread into 1 inch pieces. Allow to dry overnight, or dry in a 200° oven for an hour. You want the bread stale and tough, but not rock hard.


2. Cut, or tear, mozzarella into small pieces, less than bite size


3. Halve, or quarter the tomatoes, again you're shooting for smaller than bite size


4. Finely dice garlic


5. Cut basil into a chiffonade (stack the leaves, roll them lengthwise, then finely slice them). You should end up with long, thin, strings of basil.


6. Place bread into a large mixing bowl. You're going to use your hands to mix it up, so give yourself plenty of room


7. Pour 1/2 cup each of oil and vinegar over bread, allow to soak in.


8. Add garlic, basil, tomatoes, and cheese, stir with your hands. Once everything is well coated, start squeezing the bread. The goal is to treat the bread like a sponge so that it sucks up the juice from the tomatoes, as well as the oil and vinegar.


9. Add salt and pepper to taste, allow to sit for a few minutes.


10. Gauge the moisture level of the bread and add more oil and vinegar if need be. The bread should soak up all of the juice, but not be dripping. There should be no juice left in the bottom of the bowl.

A note...this salad can be made ahead but try to avoid refrigerating if possible. It's best served at room temperature