French Bread and Tomato Salad

 

How to make French bread and tomato salad.

In the land of baguettes, where a bakery is on every corner, and bread is baked in a wood oven once and sometimes twice a day, where buying a baguette daily is as natural as breathing, having a day old baguette around is common.

Hence French Toast, or as they say in France, "Pain Perdu," a direct translation is "Lost Bread," was created as a dessert, not for breakfast. One day I'll you my nephew George's recipe, but today it is a salad recipe I would like to share.

 

 

We live in a small town, where the only fast food is the bakery and take out pizza. To say I cook often is an understatement. Sure there are a few restaurants in town... but I am, I don't like to say it, but a food snob. I don't appreciate going out to a restaurant unless they can cook better than what I can do. Don't get me wrong, cooking better than me isn't hard to do, what I mean is if I am going to go to a restaurant I expect it to be good... which isn't hard to do in France... but in our town that isn't the case.

 

 

With that said when a baguette is sitting on my kitchen counter feeling sorry for itself because it can be used as a hammer, instead of smeared with cheese, tomato salad comes to the rescue.

The Recipe:

Chop half of a bowl full of garden fresh tomatoes.

Fill the other half with dried hard baguette, in bite size pieces. 

Add a few crushed garlic,

Two handfuls of fresh basil,

Two fresh balls of buffalo Mozzarella chopped,

Olive oil (about half a cup or more),

salt to taste,

and toss gently until well mix.

Cover and set aside. 

 

 

This salad is at its best if it sets for about an hour, tossing it every now and then helps saturates the bread and flavors.

It can be kept in the refrigerator over night and served later, toss before serving.

 

 

Fresh, wholesome ingredients, including a "sorry for itself" baguette is simple fare, and beats going to a restaurant on a hot summer day.

 

What is your favorite summer salad? And do you like to cook? 

Comments

[Merisi in Vienna]

My favorite summer salad? Right here, tomato bread salad, only mine is called Panzanella, or Tuscan style. Like you, I like to add mozzarella di bufala (did you know that in Italy mozzarella is made exclusively with buffalo milk? Cow's milk cheese is calld fiordilatte). I don't use garlic, but am known to add some Calabrese hot pepper flakes.

[Becky F]

Hi Corey, I also love to cook. My favorite summer salad at this writing is a roasted corn salad. Roast 4 ears of corn on the grill, cool and cut the corn off the cob. Add 2-3 large avocados (cut into 3/4 inch pieces), 4 perfectly ripe tomatoes (also cut into 3/4 inch pieces), some minced red onion, lots of chopped cilantro, the juice and zest of 3 limes, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. I have also added feta cheese at times.

[annie]

I love egg salad using eggplant hummus in place of mayonaise to mix in. Delicious and absent all the fat from mayo. Shred some head lettuce for a bed of crunchy green and you have a total taste treat.

[Helene]

My favorite summer salad is Zucchini in Truffle Oil. It is simply and delicious: Grate 6 zucchini. Toss with 1 Tablespoon of salt and let sit for 1 hour. This will draw quite a bit of juice from the zucchini which is then squeezed dry in a dish towel. Toss the zucchini in 1-2 Tablespoons of Truffle oil. Top with browned pine nuts. (if you want to be extra fancy, serve in a cupped leaf of Radicchio. The green and purple are beautiful). Enjoy!

[Merisi in Vienna]

Thank you, Becky,
this sounds oh so delicious!
I'll have to roast the corn under the broiler, but I will try this soon:
I have fresh coriander from the farmers market ready to be put to good use!
Cheers,
Merisi

[Bev]

It's still a little early here for homegrown tomatoes but when they are in season I like to cut up tomato, cucumber and feta cheese and mix them altogether with olive oil and a little oil.

And I love to cook. When I am stressed which has been often recently, I bake. My neighbors have all been getting the fruit of my baking--zucchini bread, apple pie, strawberry rhubarb crumble, thai salad, vegetable soup (and that was just this past week!). Hopefully I won't be as stressed this week. But my neighbors aren't complaining:)

[martina]

Let's see, if I catch the direct flight this evening, would be at your doorstep 12 hours after that and there might be some leftover yummy salad.

[Paulita]

I wish I had hardened baguette that I could use in this salad. But I have two teenage boys who have a "leave no bread behind" policy. The salad looks delicious. I just made a loaf of Italian Herb bread this morning that is waiting for my lunch though. Yum.
Oh, and our tomatoes are getting ripe already here in Ohio due to the early spring. Double yum.

[rebeccanyc]

Love to cook! And on vacation, with such bounty here (and food is so much less expensive than in NYC) I really have a blast. Right now I have a Boeuf Bourguignon in the oven...I know, I know...its too hot for stew, but we won't be eating until 9;30 or so, it will be cooler then. I LOVE tomato cut into irregular pieces, drenched in olive oil with minced onions and basil. Let it sit a few hours, get a bagette and dip the bread in the juice! oh lordy loo, that's good.

[Diogenes]

"it can be used as a hammer..." OK that cracked me up. My favorite summer salad is cucumber with sliced onion in olive oil and rice wine vinegar, with dill and a little sea salt.

[Judi]

Remind me to tell you the story of when I actually knocked my brother out with a stale baquette. Lest you think me mean, it was an accident as part of a play - we just didn't realize the baguette was so hard.

Thanks for the recipe - it sounds wonderful and I plan to make it with the tomatoes that are coming in from my garden. Yum.

[Franca Bollo]

Panzanella! Merisi's comment made me remember trips to Italy where one learns a mozzarella ball is not a mozzarella ball is not a mozzarella ball (apologies Gertrude) and neither is a blob of ricotta. Imagine trying to vocalize the difference between a sheep and a goat at the cheese counter. I don't think they were laughing with me.

[Franca Bollo]

I'd do a face plant in a plate of that.

[Patti]

Just so you know... there are people out here with NO cooking ability (that would be me). I read these recipies and wonder where I can find a resturant in our little resturant lacking town to find these wonderful things made by someone like each of you!

[Christine]

I love it...no cooking involved! The best kind of recipe for this weather! :)

[Kelleyn]

I like every part of that salad except for the bread mixed with the tomatoes. Don't like wet bread! It is a texture thing for me. My favorite salad is a salad with napa cabbage, peanuts, peanut dressing, soy beans, and celery with rice noodles and won tons.

[Lana Kloch]

thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. wanted to share a new one i just tried and fell in love with... use cubed watermelon, silvered mint leaves, crushed feta cheese and toss. add a little balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and toss.. delicious..

[Casual Cottage Chic]

Geez, I'm going to sound so "plain Jane" compared to all of you cooks, but in the summer I love to make potatoe salad with olive oil instead of mayo, lots of chopped spring onions and hard boiled egg with cooked red potatoes (skins still on). Add crumbled blue cheese and crispy bacon bits when tossing. Easy, oui?
And in the summer, a favorite is cold Gazpacho soup!

[Zosia]

Tomato, boconccini, basil, olive oil - one of my favourite salads. Never had it with the "sorry for itself" bread - will try.
I like to cook and try new recipes, especially if they give a bang for the time spent in the kitchen, i.e. looks and tastes great without spending a day cooking it.

[Dd]

Take those toms cut w some kosher salt and some minced garlic and llet it sit for several hours. Cook some pasta, add to the toms, add a little of that buffalo, some parm, and serve!
How hot is it there???

[Dd]

Corey, forgot to mention the basil! What are toms without their best friend.

[Marie]

Corey ---we are clones of each other. I love to
cook and cook for myself everyday when others
I know eat horrible fast food. My health is
great and I don't spend a lot of time at medical
facilities or take a lot of pills. Restaurants
dont hold much interest.
Because I am gluten intolerant I can't eat this
great salad. My favorite is butter lettuce, with
beets, feta, walnuts and a bit of vinaigrette. But
there are many more.

[Jenna]

That looks so good, I love bread salad. My favorite salad is a cobb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobb_salad

And I love to cook, one of my favorite things, I wish I had a bigger family so I can cook even more.

[betsy]

my mom used to fix stewed tomatoes (ones that she always canned herself) with day old french bread on top, served hot with salt and pepper.
I know I would like this cold tomato salad. I am sure that the mozzarella you have pictured is much tastier than what I can find, and I totally love garlic on and in every dish just about.
betsy

[Merisi in Vienna]

Ah, fresh ricotta, standing in their woven cestini on top of the deli counter.