Day old bread, heirloom tomatoes, red onion, shaved Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, oil & vinegar, salt & pepper.  Ta-done!!  Layers of flavor.  Thank you summer sun.

This Panzanella Salad is yet another great way to use summer’s luscious fruit….tomatoes.  In this case, heirloom tomatoes, grown locally for more than 50 years.  The growers at the Farmers’ Market are proud of all their produce, but their tomatoes make them sing.  They will tell you about their amazing smells, tender thin skins, sweet acidity, beautiful colors, and their names.  Sweet Millions, Green Zebra, Mister Stripey, Cherokee Purple, Early Girls, Brandywine…. We will continue to eat them every day for as long as we can find them.  Then next year, I’m going to learn how to ‘Can’ so we can continue to eat them in the off season too.

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Heirloom Tomato & Bread Salad {Panzanella}

Course Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Ingredients

• 3 cups 1-inch cubed day old crusty bread
• 2 cups diced heirloom tomatoes
• 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs chopped (like lemony thyme, basil, and tarragon)
• 1/4 cup high quality olive oil
• 1 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove minced
• sea salt & freshly cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread bread cubes onto a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5-7 minutes until crunchy.
• Place bread cubes, diced tomatoes, red onion, shaved Parmesan and fresh herbs in a large bowl.
• Whisk olive oil, vinegar and garlic together then drizzle over salad. Only use a couple Tablespoons to begin. Toss salad and test for dressing. Add additional dressing if needed. Season salad with salt & pepper.
• Allow salad to sit for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

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