Panzanella Salad

I love salads, they're my (second) favorite go-to lunch. Salads, however, can be boring. They can be repetitive. Lettuce sometimes just doesn't do it for me. I've been looking for more from my salad lately. After having sandwiches last week, I was ready to switch back to the salad. Armed with leftover sandwich bread and some fresh mozzarella, I wondered what to make . Then it hit me - Panzanella Salad.

Panzanella Salad
serves 4

Ingredients
3 ripe tomatoes, quartered
1/4 onion, sliced
1 cucumber, seeded, cut in half and sliced
1 yellow pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
8-12 oz mozzarella
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
6-8 basil leaves, plus more for garnish
1/2 loaf few days old bread
salt & pepper

Instructions
Cube bread, sprinkle with olive oil. Bake bread at 400* for 10 mins, or until slightly browned. remove from oven, cool on a wire rack.

While bread is baking, cut all the vegetables to desired size (I prefer a little larger than bite-sized). Combine them in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Cube the mozzarella and add to the salad.

To make the vinaigrette, wisk ~2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and the minced garlic. Continue wisking while slowly adding ~1/2 cup olive oil.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, add bread and serve immediately. If not serving immediately, do not add the bread cubes until you are ready to eat. Otherwise, they will get soggy. I prefer this salad served around room temperature.