Warm Grilled Panzanella Salad
Crusty bread: check. Sweet, grilled tomatoes: check. Local canola oil: check. Enough garlic to ward off a hoard of vampires: absolutely. This uber-quick salad (it only takes about 10-15 minutes to make!) is packed with deliciousness, and is the perfect side for a Fred Flintstone-worthy steak, or just about anything else you want to shove in your face hole.
Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 loaf of old ciabatta (not crazy old. Not an elderly ciabatta. Just kinda old. Like a couple of days old. It shouldn’t be in young, fresh and in the full, bready bloom of youth) 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes 4 cups arugula mixed with ½ cup fresh basil, torn 2 cloves garlic ¼ cup canola oil ¼ cup balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Step 1: Assemble your ingredients! Preheat the grill to medium-high, and give it a good cleaning once it's hot.
Step 2: slice the loaf of ciabatta in half, like you're making a giant delicious sandwich.
Step 3: Brush both side of each half with oil
Step 4: Season the oiled bread generously with salt and pepper. C'mon don't be shy. Season away.
Step 5: Grill the bread for a few minutes on each side, just until the bread is crispy and there are some nice grill marks
Step 6: Next, throw (or toss, or place - whichever you prefer) your tomatoes in a grilling basket or grill-safe pan on the barbecue.
Step 7: While the tomatoes are cooking, cut the grilled bread into cubes.
Step 8: Now, grate, chop, smash or grind the garlic.
Step 9: When the skin on the tomatoes begins to burst, take them off the grill and palce them in a big bowl, along with the garlic, bread cubes, arugula and basil. Add the oil and vinegar. Toss it all together, and season with salt and pepper. If needed.
Step 10: Grab a few plates, a big bottle of wine, and eat. And drink. All of it.
