runchy toasted bread cubes snuggle into a bright, sunshiny salad and emerge dripping with flavor while retaining their inner crisp. Jamie introduced me to today's recipe on this blog, and while it did require some chopping, overall it was a cinch to make. I chose baguette, which I don't think is the most flavorful choice for this salad. I had my tongue set on focaccia, but my grocery superstore only offered baguette and Chewbacca bread. I chose wrong, good friends :(
However, I must say that the concept is exactly like bruschetta, which I've been making for years. The big difference is that the bread goes inside the topping, rather than under it, in this variation. The only thing missing was garlic on the toasted bread. The flavors were amazing; as I've said before, basil really makes an enormous impact in salads. Finally, fresh mozzarella delivers a creamy goodness to the dish.
Preheat oven to 400F. Cube bread and toss with 1T olive oil. Bake bread for 10 minutes total, stirring once. Meanwhile, combine 4 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped; 1 chopped yellow pepper; 1/2 sliced red onion; and 16 oz. fresh mozzarella, cubed, in a large bowl. In a container with a tight-fitting lid combine 1/4 C olive oil, 1/4 C red wine vinegar, 1/2 t ground oregano, 1/2 t salt and 1/2 t ground black pepper. Shake well and pour over vegetables, chill for several hours. Just before serving, combine with toasted bread cubes and basil.
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