I had a few pieces of sourdough bread leftover from the loaf that I bought last weekend at Ithaca Bakery so I planned to make Ina's panzanella -- but as summer Sundays frequently go I didn't end up having exactly what I needed on hand. So, it was caio to Ina's version and time to improvise.
Ingredients:
4-5 slices of bread that is starting to become stale
a few tablespoons of Garlic Scape Pesto
Olive oil
Grapeseed oil
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 carrots
1/2 of a cucumber
2 large heirloom tomatoes
Two tablespoons of Lemon-Basil Pesto
Prep peppers & bread for grilling: Brush 4-5 slices of slightly stale sourdough bread with garlic scape pesto, olive oil, and grapeseed oil; halve two peppers and drizzle with olive oil and salt
Chop all of the raw veggies: Three carrots, thinly sliced; a half of a cucumbers, seeded and roughly chopped; two large heirloom tomatoes -- I used solar flairs -- roughly chopped; set all aside
Grill! At a medium heat, I find the bread needs 3–4 minutes per side and the peppers need 10–12 minutes per side
When the bread and the peppers are cool enough to handle, chop roughly
Arrange your salad: Layer the bread on the bottom of the plate, so it absorbs all of the juices, then the peppers, then the tomatoes, then the carrots and finally cucumbers
Mix together: Two tablespoons of lemon-basil pesto, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar until and drizzle over salad
Serves four as an appetizer or two as a main.