EVERGREENS AND TOMATOES
About the Recipe
August comes to life in this perfect late summer dish that highlights garden tomatoes and peaches. No peaches on hand? Not a problem! Simply exclude them from the recipe and have a traditional, Panzanella salad. If you'd like a little extra sweetness to compensate for not adding peaches, you can drizzle with a nice balsamic vinegar when serving, but I find the sweetness of the tomatoes to be delicious on their own.
Ingredients
2 lbs of tomatoes
1 peach
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/3 of a large, sweet onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
fresh ground pepper (optional)
Burrata (optional)
1/2 cup nice olive oil + 3-4 Tbsp drizzling the bread croutons before toasting
4 Tbsp sherry vinegar - can be swapped for red wine vinegar
2/3 to a full loaf of day (or a couple) old bread - I used Grand Central Piccolo Como. You will want the bread to have some density - so avoid the inexpensive french bread loaves from the grocery store.
(Not pictured: the dijon mustard that I totally missed in this shot 🙃)
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400. Cut the loaf of bread into roughly 1 inch cubes (no need to strive for perfection here). Then transfer the cut pieces to a mixing bowl and drizzle with 3-4 Tbsp of olive oil and toss.
Place parchment paper on a cookie/baking tray and transfer the bread pieces to the tray in a single layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until you start to see browning on the edges - you are aiming for a similar texture and coloring as the croutons you get on salads.
Step 2
Add the 1/2 cup of olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, pressed garlic, and dijon to a mixing bowl and whisk together until it has thickened/emulsified. (optional) Add in fresh ground pepper and whisk.
Step 3
Slice up the tomatoes into slices or wedges and then thinly slice the onion. Add the tomatoes and onion to the mixing bowl from Step 2 and then let the onion and tomatoes marinate for 15-30 minutes (up to 2 hours). This will distribute some of the sweetness from the tomatoes to the liquid and create a really flavorful mixture.
Step 4
Slice the peach and add to the tomato mixture. Let marinate with the tomatoes and onions for 5-10 minutes.
Step 5:
Chop or tear the basil, but keep in relatively large chunks. Then combine the basil and croutons with the tomato and onion mixture. Let sit for 1-2 minutes before serving to give the bread some time to soak up the juices.
Then serve. Enjoy!
Easy to follow recipe with delicious results