Panzanella

This week, I am posting recipes from magazines cutouts. Tonight was Panzanella...very tasty and so brightly colored :)

Panzanella

Ingredients:

6 cups cubed Italian or rustic bread
4 large ripe tomatoes (about 3 lb), cut in chunks
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/3-cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 medium yellow peppers, seeded and cubed
1 large seedless cucumber, quartered lengthwise, cut into 1/4-in pieces
1/3 cup chopped parsley

Directions:

Heat oven to 400F. Line a jelly-roll pan with foil. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on pan. Toast in oven 10 to 12 minutes, tossing once, until evenly browned.

Meanwhile, put tomatoes, onion, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes or until tomatoes release their juices. Toss occasionally.

Add peppers, cucumber and parsley to tomatoes. Let stand at least 15 minutes for flavors to blend. Just before serving, add bread cubes; toss to blend thoroughly.

Serves 12 (12 cups)



**Shortcuts**

I had a pack of 16 split top rolls available. I tore these into cubes and toasted them in my pampered chef casserole dish in the oven. I also used 2-1 lb cans of diced tomatoes w/basil instead of fresh tomatoes. Everything else in the recipe was just as listed.