Tomato and Bread Salad: Make this Late Summer Recipe

It's late summer and there's still time to enjoy the pleasures that summer provides. Tomato and Bread Salad ((also known as Panzanella Salad) is easy to bring to the picnic, so you don't have to labor this Labor Day or any other day. Keep it simple and let your ingredients shine. I use a mix of ripe tomatoes: red vine, yellow, grape, and brown Kumato. I love the colors. I also stick a big ball of Burrata cheese in the center. Burrata cheese is just mozzarella cheese with a creamy, heavenly center, but if you don't have it, buffalo mozzarella will be great too. Happy Labor Day everyone!

Make this Late Summer Tomato and Bread Salad Recipe

Tomato and Bread Salad (also known as Panzanella Salad) consists of an array of tomatoes, bread, oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. These simple seasonings are all you need to enhance this dish. The addition of creamy burrata cheese makes this wholesome dish luscious and a little more special. Bring it to your next picnic or serve it as a dinner salad.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for toasting bread
• 1 lb variety of ripe tomatoes sliced ½ inch thick
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 8-10 cracks black pepper plus more to taste
• 4-5 thin slices red onion
• 3 leaves fresh basil torn
• 4 thick slices Italian bread cubed
• 1 8-ounce ball burrata cheese

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

  Find a dish with sides (like a 9x13 glass dish) that's big enough to place all the tomatoes in a single layer. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic clove, salt, and pepper.
• Pour the vinaigrette over the tomatoes until covered fully and let them marinate at room temperature for at least an hour.
• Meanwhile, cut the Italian bread into ½ inch pieces and place them in a bowl. Drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Drain the burrata and place it in the center of your serving dish. Remove marinated tomatoes from the vinaigrette (save the vinaigrette) and arrange the tomatoes around the burrata. Spoon a little more vinaigrette over the tomatoes and reseason with salt and pepper. Add the slices of red onion and torn pieces of basil.
• Toss the croutons in the remaining vinaigrette for a minute or so, and arrange them on top of the tomatoes.

  Serves 4-6

Keyword bread, burrata cheese, croutons, panzanella salad, summer salads, tomato salad, tomatoes, vegetarian