Easy Panzanella Salad

Spring time makes me crave fresh flavorful ingredients. Recently I wanted to make a quick and simple flavorful dinner. I complied what ingredients I had and decided that a panzanella salad would be the way to go. A panzanella salad uses thick pieces of bread that has been quickly soaked in different liquids such as juice from a tomato, olive oil, or balsamic vinegar. For my salad I soaked it in tomato juice, which brought out the flavor of the meal.

I saw the image above on myrecepies.com and it inspired the dish below! 

Easy Panzanella Salad 

Serves 1 

2 thick slices of bread (ideally stale or day old bread) cut or ripped into bite sized pieces 

10 cherry tomatoes

4 basil leaves cut up

1/4 cup of thinly sliced red onion 

1/4 cup of garbanzo beans 

1/3 cup of cucumber sliced

Salt and Pepper to taste 

1 tablespoon of olive oil + 2 tablespoons 

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 

Start by preheating the over to 425 degrees. Place the bread in a bowl. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and squeeze the juice into the bread with the bowl. Mix, cover, and let sit for about 10 minutes. After it has soaked, place the bread on a backing sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and bake in oven for about 10 minutes. The bread should come out crispy and golden brown.  While the bread is in the oven, cut up the basil, red onion, and cucumber and place in a medium sized bowl along with the garbanzo beans. When the bread is done mix with the other ingredients and drizzle on the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. 

Have fun with the ingredients! There are tons of different ways to enjoy panzanella salad!

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-A