In Firenze, Italy (Florence), bread is made without salt and so it quickly becomes stale and when it does the stale bread is used in marvelous rustic ways such as bread soup or this fantastic, Panzanella.
ABS grows his own heirloom tomatoes (The orange one is German, the reds are Italian) and the dark purple ones are Black Krims * which are simply the best tomatoes ever created by God.
Panzanella
For the croutons:
4 cups cubed Heirloom/ Rustic bread (about ½ inch cubes), crust removed
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the salad:
5 cups Heirloom Tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small shallot, peeled and finely diced (or ¼ cup fine diced red onion)
1 Cuke, peeled, seeded, sliced into half-moons
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves (from 4 to 5 sprigs) added at end
Heat the oven to 400F.
Place the bread cubes on a large, parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle bread cubes with the 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lightly toss bread cubes to coat in the oil and seasoning.
Place coated bread cubes in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until croutons are golden brown and crunchy. Remove and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cut tomatoes, balsamic or red wine vinegar, olive oil, cuke, diced shallots, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine. Allow this mixture to sit for at least 10 minutes. The longer it sits, the juicier the tomatoes will be.
Toss the croutons with the dressed tomatoes in the large bowl. Allow this mixture to sit for about 15 minutes, stirring it up here and there to distribute the dressing.
* http://www.almanac.com/blog/gardening-blog/why-do-people-dislike-black-tomatoes
* http://www.almanac.com/blog/gardening-blog/why-do-people-dislike-black-tomatoes