Tuscan Tomato Bread Salad
- Ready In:
- 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
12
ingredients
- 4 cups spinach leaves, lightly packed
- 4 cups basil leaves, fresh, lightly packed
- 1 lb Italian bread, coarse-textured (ciabatta or pugliese)
- 3 1⁄2 lbs tomatoes, soft-ripe, peeled (optional)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1⁄3 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons jalapenos, fresh, minced
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 12 ounces red peppers, peeled roasted, cut into wide strips (1 jar)
- 1 cup olive, oil-packed, pitted
- 1⁄2 cup capers, drained
- 4 ounces anchovy fillets, drained
directions
- Rinse and drain spinach and basil; wrap in towels. Chill in a plastic bag.
- Meanwhile, cut bread into 1-inch chunks and put in an 11- by 17-inch roasting pan. Bake in a 350° oven until chunks are light golden and soft parts of bread are crisp, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool.
- Cut tomatoes into 1- to 2-inch chunks and place in a large bowl. Scoop juice from cutting board into bowl and add garlic, oil, vinegar, chilies, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Gently mix tomatoes with bread, red peppers, and olives. Let stand at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, for bread to soften. Gently mix in spinach and basil. Scatter salad with capers and crisscross anchovies on top.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Busters friend
Pleasure Island, 73
<p>First about Buster: Buster moved onto whatever comes next on February 26, 2008. He was just shy of five years old. I miss him terribly. <br />He came into our lives when he ran out in front of my car late one night as I was driving home. A just under 4 pound ball of kitten fluff, complete with an ostrich boa tail that stayed straight up as he assessed his new domain. He became a 19 pound longhaired beast who guarded our house (he followed any new guests or servicepeople the entire time they are on the property) & even killed copperheads (among other things with his hunting buddy, Fergus the short-tailed)! Friends never saw his formidible side as he smiled at them & uttered the most incongruent kitten-like mews as he threaded legs! He liked to ride in the car & came to the beach. <br />There are Buster-approved recipes in my offerings - however, HE decided which he wanted to consider - Buster demonstrated he liked pumpkin anything - ALOT -LOL!!! <br /> <br />Copperhead count 2006 - Buster 2 <br /> (10 inchers w/yellow tails) <br /> 2007 - Buster & Roxie 1 <br /> (a 24 incher!) <br />Buster woken from beauty sleep - <br />http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/62264/DSCN0335.JPG <br />Big whiskers - <br />http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/62264/DSCN0333.JPG <br /> <br />For those of you who gave kind condolences - thank you so very much. <br />http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=250301 <br /> <br /> <br />I love to cook & incorporate techniques from Southern/Mid Atlantic roots (grits, eastern NC BBQ shoulders, Brunswick stew, steamed crabs & shrimp & shellfish, hushpuppies, cornbread, greens, shad roe, scrapple) with Pacific Rim foods & techniques aquired while living in Pacific Northwest, fish & game recipes learned while living in Rocky Mountain region & foods/techniques learned travelling to the Big Island & up into BC & Alberta & into the Caribbean. The Middle Eastern/African likes I have are remnants of my parents who lived for many years in North Africa & Mediterranean before I was thought of. Makes for wide open cooking! <br /> <br />Since moving back east we try to go annually in the deep winter to Montreal (Old Montreal auberges & La Reine) & Quebec City (Winter Carnival & Chateau Frontenac)- for unctuous foie gras & real cheeses, French & Canadian meals prepared & served exquisitely, fantastic music & wonderful people - with the cold helping burn off some of the calories! <br /> <br />I love putting in our aluminum jonboat & heading across the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to the barrier islands for foraging & exploring! Bodysurfing is a lifelong sport for me - one that a person's body never seems to forget how to do, once the knack is learned (thank goodness!) <br /> <br />I especially miss cool summers & foggy/drizzly days & fall mushroom foraging/anytime of year hot springing in WA, OR, MT, ID, BC & Alberta.</p>