summer panzanella.

me being vegetarian and ed being not-so-vegetarian leads to a sometimes dinner predicament. it's pretty easy in the winter because there's soup, pasta, and more soup. seriously, we could run a soup kitchen up in here mid-january. but i'm not a fan of turning on the oven in the summer unless the end result is a fruit pie.

summer dinners involve a crap ton of vegetables followed by pick-a-carb, any carb. stuff like homemade guacamole with chips (you can call it dinner when you eat a lot of it) and barley salad with heirloom tomatoes. i cook vegetarian 95% of the time even though ed isn't a veg head. i'm so mean, right?

you guys know i'm not one for exactness on recipes. throw it in a bowl and give it a taste. fresh quality produce is essential in this recipe since, well, you're straight up eating a bowl of raw vegetables.

summer panzanella
heirloom tomatoes
basil
small red onion
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 small cucumber, de-seeded (i leave the skin on)
store bought fresh croutons or make your own*

vinaigrette
3 tbsp good olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp champagne vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
salt
pepper

*homemade croutons
french bread loaf cut into cubes
good olive oil
salt
pepper

1. for the croutons, spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a flat sheet pan. sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until they turn brown and crispy. you may wanna give them a toss around the 10 minute mark.
2. as for the vegetables, chop everything into bite size pieces and toss it in a large bowl.
3. add the homemade or store bought croutons on top of the vegetables.
4. in a separate bowl, whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together and pour on top of the bread and vegetables. toss well. less is more when it comes to the vinaigrette as it makes the whole dish soggy if you use too much.

i bought fresh croutons from whole foods so i'm not one to judge if you don't make your own. however, crappy processed croutons that hang out near the "bacon bits" will take this recipe down a notch if you know what i'm saying.

recipe adapted from the barefoot contessa.