Panzanella

I have a hard time thinking a meal is complete without bread. So to make bread an integral part of the main course? Perfection.

This panzanella, or Italian bread salad, was an delicious way to showcase the fresh tomatoes from the CSA, as well as the milkweed pods we had picked up a week or so ago. The recipe originated in the Mark Bittman book, Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express: 404 inspired seasonal dishes you can make in 20 minutes or less, that I've been writing so much about. I decided to just go on memory for the components from last time. To substitute for capers, I used the milkweed pods, which are brined, but are larger and squishier than capers. The rest was a jumble of tomatoes, bread, basil, parsley, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. While I'm sure I left out a few traditional parts, the result was delicious. Thank goodness for half-baguettes - any larger, and I would have just kept eating the bowl of salad until it was gone...