Panzanella (Tuscan Bread Salad)
- 1 pound English cucumbers
- 1 pound sweet onions, (such as Vidalia, Walla Walla or Maui)
- Salt
- 1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 5 medium)
- 1 pound coarse rustic or Italian-style bread, crusts removed, torn in large chunks and left to stale 1 week
- 1/2 cup torn basil leaves
- 6 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Freshly-ground black pepper
- Peel cucumbers leaving some green skin in alternating strips; slice as thinly as possible.
- Slice onions as thinly as possible.
- In a colander, toss cucumber and onion slices with 2 teaspoons salt.
- Weight with a plate and let drain 20 minutes.
- Quarter, then thinly slice tomatoes.
- In a large bowl of cold water soak staled bread just until it loses its firmness and becomes spongy, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- (If you have let your bread get stale for less than 2 days, just run it briefly under cold, running water.)
- Using your hands, gently squeeze out water without compacting bread too much.
- Tear into pieces about 1/2-inch wide and 3-inches long.
- In a large bowl combine soaked bread, cucumbers and onions, tomatoes, basil, oil and vinegar.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately.
cucumbers, sweet onions, salt, tomatoes, bread, torn basil, extravirgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, freshlyground black pepper
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/panzanella-tuscan-bread-salad-recipe.html (may not work)