Panzanella

3 tbsp good olive oil

1 small GF french bread, boule or baguette (about 6 cups of bread cubes)

1 tsp kosher salt

2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes (I have also used heirloom cherry tomatoes cut in half)

1 cucumber, unpeeled, sliced to 1/2 inch thick ( I then cut the slices in half or quarter)

1 red pepper, seeded & cut in quarters

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded & cut in quarters

1 small red onion, sliced, leaving rings together as much as possible

20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

3 tbsp capers, drained

For the Vinaigrette:

1 tsp finely minced garlic

½ tsp Dijon mustard

3 tbsp champagne or white wine vinegar

½ cup good olive oil

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for about 10 minutes, or until bread cubes are nicely browned. Add more oil as needed, but don’t go too crazy, you want the croutons nicely browned & a little crisp, not saturated with oil. Set aside.

Brush peppers halves & sliced red onion with olive oil. Roast on grill, in grill pan or in oven until slightly soft. After roasting cut peppers into strips, then in half & cut onion rings into halves or quarters. 

For the vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients.

To assemble, in a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Let stand for about half an hour before serving, to allow for the flavors to blend.

Notes:

This is based on The Barefoot Contessa’s recipe. Thanks Ina! I have noted a couple changes that I make, including using GF bread to make the croutons. I use a loaf of the crusty bread (see my recipe Crusty bread or bolillos). If you can find them, you could also use GF croutons, but the homemade ones are easy & so delicious!

I like to do the peppers & red onion of the grill. It gives it a really nice flavor & the great grill marks. But using a grill pan or roasting them works too! Also, you can use any 2 colors of bell pepper - red, yellow, orange. Even green, but this color does have a stronger flavor than the other colors, so I don’t use green because I think the flavor can be a little too much in this particular dish.

If you are making this dish ahead of time, I recommend not adding the croutons until shortly before serving. This will keep them from getting soggy.

The recipe serves 12, but it’s easy to half or even quarter.