Panzanella Salad with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

Panzanella Salad Dressing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¹/₂ teaspoon grated fresh garlic or very finely chopped garlic

¹/₂ teaspoon crushed red pepper

¹/₂ teaspoon kosher salt

¹/₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Panzanella

3-4 ¹/₂ inch thick slices (275 g) sourdough bread ciabatta, or similar crusty bread

Extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt

3 (340 g) red bell peppers or assorted colors (yellow, orange, red), sliced into 1-inch pieces

12 ounces (300 g) cherry or grape tomatoes 1 pint

¹/₄ cup thinly sliced red onion

2 baby (Persian) cucumbers or seedless cucumber, sliced into thin rounds

¹/₂ cup fresh mozzarella or crumbled feta cheese (or a 50-50 combination)

Handful of fresh basil or Italian parsley roughly torn

Instructions

Mix the salad dressing

Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette dressing in a lidded glass jar. Shake it until the dressing is smooth and emulsified. Alternatively, you can whisk everything together in a bowl. The dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead (store in the refrigerator).

• extra virgin olive oil
• vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• garlic
• crushed red pepper
• salt
• pepper

Panzanella salad

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Slice the bread into 1-inch cubes (they don't have to be perfect). If you're feeling rustic, tear the bread into irregular bite-size pieces instead of slicing it. You should have about 5 heaping cups

Put the bread pieces on a rimmed sheet pan

Drizzle about 3 Tablespoons of olive oil over the bread and sprinkle with the oregano and ¹/₄ teaspoon of salt

Toss together until the bread is evenly coated with the seasonings

Spread it out in an even layer

Bake 15 minutes, stirring the pieces around once about halfway through. The bread should be crisp on the edges and lightly toasted

Put the sliced peppers and tomatoes on a second rimmed sheet pan

Drizzle on 1-2 Tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with a large pinch of salt, then gently shake the pan to coat

Bake alongside the bread for 15 minutes

Transfer the toasted bread to an oversized bowl

Scrape in the roasted tomatoes and peppers, along with all the tomato juices that collected in the pan

Add the red onion and cucumbers and toss a few times to incorporate

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything together until evenly coated

Tear the mozzarella into pieces

Scatter the cheese over the salad along with the herbs