Panzanella: Tuscan bread salad

Ingredients:

• 1 8 slices day old Tuscan style or hearty bread
• 2 10 cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2/3 cup)
• 3 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 5 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 6 4 fresh basil leaves
• 7 salt
• 8 Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Submerge the slices of day old Tuscan style bread in a bowl of water. Use your hands to squeeze out all the water that the bread has absorbed. Break up the bread into small pieces and put into a large bowl. Squeeze the cherry tomato juice into a small bowl before adding the tomato halves to the bread mixture. Add the red onion, olive oil, and red wine vinegar to the bowl. Tear up the basil leaves and toss into the salad mixture ten season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well. Let the salad rest in the refrigerator for a few hours for all the flavours to come together.

Irene Milito