Panzanella Salad With Bacon, Tomato and Basil

Name: Panzanella Salad With Bacon, Tomato and Basil
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 4 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes, about 1-1/3 pounds; 1/2 cup sliced red onion; 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil; 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled; 1 loaf French bread, day old, cut into 1 inch cubes; 2 cups torn romaine lettuce

Submitted by Charmie777

"This is from Cooking Light magazine. A great refreshing Italian salad. You can make the tomato mixture the day before and the toss with bread and lettuce just before serving."

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photo by Nimz_

Ready In:: 20mins
Ingredients:: 11
Serves:: 6

ingredients

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes, about 1-1/3 pounds
¹⁄₂ cup sliced red onion
¹⁄₄ cup chopped fresh basil
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 loaf French bread, day old, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups torn romaine lettuce

directions

Preheat oven to 350º.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir with a whisk.
Add tomato, onion, basil and bacon; toss well. Set aside.
Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on baking sheet. Lightly coat bread with cooking spray.
Bake at 350º for 15 minutes or until toasted; cool.
Add bread and lettuce to tomatoes; toss gently to combine.
Serve immediately.

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Reviews

I have made this salad from your recipes for several years. We love the flavors and the ease of making this recipe! I have had to stay away from this for the 2 summers as I have to really watch the carbs, today I decided to make it more carb friendly and it is STILL JUST as wonderful as before. I used only 1/3 of the bread your recipe called for and increase the tomatoes and lettuce. Color me happy, Happy, HAPPY! Thanks for a great recipe!

CindiJ
Simply splendid. Used some sourdough that was getting stale. I could up huge bowls of this!

evelynathens
What a great salad! One tip I would offer is get the best balsamic vinegar you can find to make the dressing. Chopped the onion so it was in smaller pieces, DH doesnt care for a lot of onion, used turkey bacon, and an italian loaf of day old bread. I will be making this for us again! Made and reviewed for the 2014 Culinary Quest - Cruisin' Culinary Queens.

lauralie41
Loved it! Can't go wrong with balsamic vinegar, bacon, tomato & basil. I will be making this fresh salad often.

Claudia Dawn
The first time I've made panzanella and I'll look no further for another recipe. This was fabulous! I don't usually eat raw tomatoes, but the seasoning in this salad made them wonderful. I used a peppered bacon, so there was a bit of a spicy bite to the salad. Easy to make and just wonderful for a hot Florida evening! Thanks for posting - this is a keeper for me! Made for ZWT7 - ITALY and the HOT PINK LADIES!

kitty.rock