At this time of year, when tomatoes and basil are a weekly staple in our CSA share, my husband and I make a panzanella at least once a week. Panzanella is an Italian salad with bread and tomatoes. It is a great way to use up stale bread. It is really easy to throw together and can be adapted to include the ingredients you have on hand. These are the basics:
Start with fresh tomatoes (colorful heirlooms are the best)! Chop into bite-sized pieces.
Using a hearty bread or stale bread, slice into pieces the same size as the tomatoes. I used half of a loaf of homemade bread that was getting a bit dry.
Chop up mozzarella cheese into pieces of the same size. Shredded mozzarella won't cut it - the chunks of whole mozz are what you want. I really wanted to be able to use my own homemade mozzarella for this, but we just didn't have the time to make it. Another month's Cheese Made By Me! Add fresh basil if you have it. If not, dried will work. I also add some oregano, sea salt, and black pepper.
Combine olive oil and red wine vinegar. For this panzanella, I used 1/3 cup of oil and a little less than 1/3 cup of vinegar. Add to the salad and toss until all ingredients are covered with dressing.
We eat this as our main dish, with an ear of fresh corn for a real summer meal. The salad is best if made a bit before eating so that the flavors have a chance to mingle and the bread can soften. It then makes great leftovers for lunch the next day. If we have sweet peppers or red onion, we add those also.
Buon appetito!