Antipasti

My sister and I used to call this “Dead Bread Salad” because my mother always used the bread left over from the day before. Since the bread was fairly dry it was deemed unfit to eat unless used in this salad or kept another day or two and then turned into bread crumbs for frying, etc. If I make this for guests I toss the salad together before they arrive. It is always perfect when I serve it about 30 minutes later. The Mid Eastern version uses Pita bread but it is essentially the same thing. Enjoy!!!

Panzanella – Bread Salad (also called Fattoush)

Ingredients:

6 slices of Italian bread, day-old (or baked until they are very dry and golden)

1 tsp. chopped garlic (2-4 cloves garlic)
1 tsp. salt (I used fine grind sea salt)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, about 2 large lemons (or to taste)
1 tsp. powdered Sumac, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
1 cup diced tomatoes (let drain a minute or two if extra juicy)
1 cup diced cucumber

1 cup diced radishes

1/4 cup diced green onion
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley (leaves only, no stems)

Preparation:

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400F/200C. While oven heats, combine the garlic and salt using a mortar and pestle, or the side of a knife or spoon. Put garlic-salt paste in a small bowl; add lemon juice and 1 tsp. Sumac. Whisk in olive oil and set dressing aside. (You can also make the dressing in a glass jar and shake to combine.)

Cut the bread slices into cubes. Arrange the bread on a baking sheet. Bake until it is crisp but only barely starting to brown, less than 10 minutes.
Remove outer leaves from Romaine, trim stem end, wash and dry with paper towels. Cut Romaine into fourths lengthwise, then turn and chop crosswise into small pieces. (If you have a salad spinner, you can chop the Romaine first, then wash.) Put chopped Romaine into salad bowl large enough toss all ingredients.

Chop tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers, mint, and parsley and add to lettuce. Add about half of the dressing and toss, then add crumbled pita chops and toss again with more dressing.

You may not want all the dressing, but this salad should be quite wet. At this point the salad should sit for a few minutes (or longer) to let flavors blend and so the bread absorbs some of the dressing. To serve, arrange salad on individual plates and sprinkle with a bit more Sumac. You can also serve it in a large bowl with the Sumac sprinkled over.