Recipe: Tuscan Panzanella Salad

Enjoy this fresh-tasting salad of ripe tomatoes, flavorful greens and whole-grain bread, all mixed with your own olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Ingredients

4 cups 100% whole grain bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon white grape juice
1 teaspoon chia seed
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon dijon or whole grain mustard
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper, ground
5 cup home grown ripe tomatoes (about 3 large), cut into 1 inch cubes
1 ½ cup cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, ½ inch slices
½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
3 cup arugula, firm packed
1 ¼ cup basil leaves (about 25), chiffonade

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees.
2. On a large non-stick baking sheet, place cubed bread and bake until the croutons are crisp and lightly colored, about 10 minutes.
3. While bread is in the oven, make the vinaigrette in a large mixing bowl by whisking together vinegar, grape juice, Chia seed, garlic, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Remove croutons from the oven and let cool.
5. Add tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion to the vinaigrette and mix well.
6. Add arugula, basil and croutons, toss until well mixed, and serve.

Chef Notes:

• Day-old bread works best for making croutons or set fresh bread out to dry out slightly before baking.
• You can use gluten-free bread as needed.
• Use oil-free fig and prune vinaigrette and omit chia seed for fat-free version.

Nutrition information

Makes 10 servings
Each 1-cup serving contains:

Calories 90
Sodium 170mg
Sugars: 3g
Cholesterol 0mg
Saturated fat .5g
Fiber 2g
Protein 2g
Carbohydrate 9g