Bread for An Entree? Yes, Please!

This delightful dish is Greek Panzanella – or simply put, Bread Salad! This is Ina Garten’s great recipe!  With chunks of French Bread, fresh veggies, feta cheese and topped with a yummy homemade vinaigrette,  this salad can enter as the main dish for supper or be served as a side.  It doesn’t serve well as a leftover meal, so you’ll have to eat it all when you serve it, but I don’t think that will be a problem!  It’s so good, everyone will want seconds!

You can make and serve this in 30 minutes, if you don’t want to let it set for the 30 minutes it calls for.  I didn’t wait, and it was fabulous!  Here’s the simple recipe.

Greek Panzanella Salad

Olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
Kosher salt
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted
I also added fresh corn, and loved its addition!  Feel free to add or leave out any veggies for your taste.

For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.

Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Seriously, this is a fantastic dish!  I hope you’ll try it either as a side or as the main entree!  It would be a great meal for a ladies’ luncheon.

I love Ina’s recipes!  Anyone have one of hers that is a favorite at your house?

With love from my country kitchen,