Panzanella Salad Recipe

Brave MacKenzie made the very first cooking attempt for 7th grade and it was a huge success.  Here at last is the recipe for the wonderful salad she made. 

6 cups day old Italian bread, torn into bite-size pieces

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

3/4 cup sliced red onion

10 basil leaves, shredded

1/2 cup pitted and halved green olives

1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-size pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, toss bread with 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Lay bread on a baking sheet, and toast in the preheated oven until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes; allow to cool slightly.
3. While the bread is in the oven, whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Gently toss together the bread, tomatoes, onion, basil, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Toss with the vinaigrette and let stand for 20 minutes before serving.

Instead of following the recipe exactly, MacKenzie chose to slice the bread thinly and serve it bruschetta style so that it would be more of a finger food.  It worked out very well.