Local tomatoes begin to appear at our farmers markets about mid-summer, thank you Gallatin Valley Botanical! Enjoy them with a fresh shallot vinaigrette, a nice crusty bread like the one they bake at Blackbird (or a levain from Wild Crumb), and fresh goat feta (thank you Amaltheia!) Wine? A cold-cold-cold rosé from the south of France (thank you Winegardner’s!)
Panzanella (Italian Tomato and Bread Salad)
Ingredients
- nice bread torn into 2-inch chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil more or less depending on size of salad you're making
- cherry tomatoes
- parsley leaves
- chives, snipped
- 1 recipe Shallot Vinaigrette see link in notes
- 4 ounces feta Amaltheia
- flaky salt Maldon or fleur de sel
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375° F. Put torn bread pieces in a bowl and drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Toss with your hands to coat then transfer to a rimmed cookie sheet pan to crisp in the oven, 10–15 minutes should do it. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
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Slice cherry tomatoes in half and place in salad bowl. Add parsley, chives, croutons, and drizzle with shallot vinaigrette, starting with two tablespoons and adding more if you wish. Gently toss, crumble on the feta, give one more gentle toss, and it's ready for serving. Pass the fleur de sel.
Recipe Notes / Tips
- Tomatoes are no good after being in the refrigerator, so don’t put them in there. Keep them at room temperature and make this salad just before you are going to serve it.
- Make this a “BLT” salad by crumbling on some cooked bacon. Yummy! Especially with Beeler’s bacon, available at the Co-Op.
- Serve on top of fresh lettuce if you want, no need to dress the greens.
- Here's my Shallot Vinaigrette
