Ah, panzanella. I’ve wanted to make you for so long. Ideally when I have just let a boule cool on my counter, but the oven is dead to me.  The temperature keeps rising and the weather is trying to coax us into calling an air conditioning company. Yet, we survive with our oscillating fan I purchased several years ago. It has become a dear friend and we’re very close to giving it a name. Instead of baking bread, I went to the Farmer’s Market and picked up fresh cucumber, tomato, onion, peppers, basil and a sourdough boule. I did have to use the stovetop briefly to crisp up the bread cubes for this recipe and I am happy to report that it was worth it. This is the Barefoot Contessa’s famous recipe with some minor tweaks. It made a huge batch that you can take to a barbecue or nibble on all weekend. It’s light and full of vibrant vegetables. A light summer dinner during these steamy times in the Midwest.

Panzanella

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Serves 12 as a side

3 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 small French boule, cut into 3/4 inch cubes (6 cups)

1 t. coarse salt

2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1 cucumber, unpeeled, seed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (your choice of colors, I used orange and green)

1/2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

3 T. capers, drained

Vinaigrette

1 t. finely minced garlic

1/2 t. Dijon mustard

3 T. aged balsalmic vinegar (or your favorite)

1/2 C. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 t. coarse salt

1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan or cast iron skillet and add the bread cubes and salt. Cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently for 10 minutes or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

2.  Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients together.

3. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, red onion, basil, mozzarella and capers. Add the vinaigrette and stir ingredients together. At this point you can add the bread cubes, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately or alternately, add half of the bread cubes and refrigerate for 1 hour. Add the rest of the bread cubes right before serving and season with salt and pepper.  This gives you some bread cubes that have soaked up the vinaigrette and some crisp bread pieces. This recipe originally called for 1 inch cubes of most of the vegetables and at the risk of sounding ridiculous, I found that a bit large and thought 1/2-3/4 inch is better for enjoying this dish.