This resourceful Tuscan salad, originally created to use up stale bread, is composed of juicy tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and basil dressed with a zingy olive oil-based vinaigrette.
3pintscherry or grape tomatoes(halved or quartered if large)
5baby or Persian cucumbers(halved and sliced ½-inch thick)
¼cupchopped or thinly sliced fresh basil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Tear the ciabatta into big rough chunks, about 1 1/2 inches large. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1/3 cup olive oil. Toss them to combine, then spread them out on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10 minutes, until the bread starts to brown at the edges but are still tender. Remove the bread from the oven and let cool and harden up on the baking sheet.
Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl or container, combine ½ cup olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Place the red onion, tomatoes, cucumbers and basil in a bowl. Shake or stir the vinaigrette to re-combine then pour it over the salad and toss gently. Add the croutons and toss again until everything is well combined. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the croutons to soak up the dressing a bit and soften, then serve.
Notes
If you can't find baby cucumbers just use one whole seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise and then cut into half-moon slices.
If you have stale bread, and want to use it instead of making croutons, then you are really making classic panzanella.
I used cherry tomatoes here, and halved them but if you have some big ripe tomatoes to cube up and use instead, definitely do that. Mixing different colored tomatoes gives this dish even more gorgeousness.
If your bread is already fairly stale/dry, you can skip the crouton-making part.
When you are toasting the bread you don't have to let it get completely crispy in the oven; it will continue to harden up as it cools, so take it out when it's slightly soft in the middle of the pieces.
I want to try this sometime with these Parmesan Croutons – I think that would be something pretty amazing, a whole other level of panzanella.