Tuscan Bread Salad

frozen_rain's Note:

Haven't tried this yet; clipped it from the local newspaper. "Use a good-quality bread, and reduce the basil and celery leaves to taste if you wish. Chef Glen Manzer suggests using the tender celery leaves from the heart of the stalks. He likes this dish with a simple roast chicken and Chianti." The bread for this salad can be seasoned and toasted before, if you wish. Other additions to the salad can be added, such as buffalo mozzarella, olives, cooked eggs, or poached tuna belly.

• Total Time: 51 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 6 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6

Yield: 6.0 cups

• 2 red bell peppers, roasted, skinned, and seeded
• 2 yellow bell peppers, roasted, skinned, and seeded
• 2 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, quartered
• 1/3 cup capers, rinsed
• 15 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into half rings
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, minced finely
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• about 8 cups bite-sized pieces of day-old bread, crusts removed
• 2 cups roughly chopped fresh basil
• 1 cup celery leaves
• sea salt
• balsamic vinegar, for drizzle
• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzle

Directions:

1. Cut red and yellow peppers into eighths.
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss together with tomatoes, capers, anchovy filets, and red onion. Set aside.
3. Whisk together red-wine vinegar, olive oil, and garlic; season to taste with kosher salt and pepper; set dressing aside.
4. Place pieces of bread into another bowl. Pour vinaigrette over bread and soak 10 minutes.
5. Then add tomato-pepper mixture, basil and celery leaves, and toss together; season to taste with sea salt and more freshly ground black pepper.
6. Place in a large bowl and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste.
7. Cook's Note: To roast whole peppers, place under a broiler or atop a barbecue at medium-high heat. Turn peppers every 2-3 minutes, until skin is blackened on all sides. Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes. The blackened skin should then peel easily off the peppers. Discard skin and seeds.