Panzanella Salad

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Recipe from Elly Says Opa!

Delicious! This was a great side dish to the Greek Stuffed Flank Steak.

One one word of advice, don't toss everything together until it is actually ready to be served. Since the steak took longer than expected, this ended up sitting for a bit, so the bread got a bit soggy. I think this definitely would've been even better had we eaten it immediately.

I skipped the cucumber because I forgot to pick some up, and no olives because I can't stand them. :)

Ingredients:
Dressing:
1 clove garlic
1-2 T fresh basil
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 T red wine vinegar
1-2 T EVOO

Salad:
4 ou French or other day old bread, cubed into 1" pieces
1 T EVOO
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 vine ripened tomatoes, cut into chunks
2 ou feta, crumbled
1/4 c chopped roasted red peppers
4 stalks asparagus, cut into 1-2" pieces

Directions:
Make the vinaigrette first for the flavors to meld. Elly's recipe has you putting all ingredients except the EVOO into a food processor, then slowly adding the EVOO to desired consistency.

However, I totally missed that part until I had already chopped up the basil and minced the garlic. Plus I'd already had my food processor our earlier that evening for something else, and was too lazy to get it out again. So I just mixed it all together in a bowl and set it in the fridge until I was ready for it.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and boil the asparagus for about 2 minutes. Quickly strain and put into a bowl of ice water to keep it from cooking any more. Set aside.

In a large skillet - add the EVOO and garlic clove. Cook over medium-high heat until fragrant. Add the bread and toss around to coat with olive oil. Continue to cook for about 7-8 minutes, tossing bread often, until toasted and golden brown. Remove the garlic clove.

In a medium serving dish, toss together the bread, dressing and all other ingredients. Serve immediately.