Torn bread salad
grownandgathered
A traditional Italian celebration of summer.
It's coming to the end of our tomato, cucumber and basil season, so preserving as much as we can is important - but eating as much as we can is also important, because once they are gone, we won't eat any of these fresh until next summer begins. It has fresh produce, a fermented pickle to help your gut health and beans for protein - as we don't eat a lot of meat. It's really easy, throw it all in there.
Recipe:
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
About 500g of good heirloom tomatoes
4 slices of good sourdough bread (If you have stale bread - that's perfect!)
3 small cucumbers (should weigh about 500g)
A small handful of basil leaves (about 30g)
1x big dill pickle (or 350g)
2 cups of cooked, locally grown, white beans
1 tablespoon of pickle juice
1/4 cup organic white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
METHOD
- Chop tomatoes and cucumber into small pieces - throw into a big bowl (see photo below). Tear bread into small pieces (about 1cm x 1cm), add to the bowl. Add basil leaves and cooked beans.
- Chop dill pickle into tiny cubes. Add olive oil, pickle juice and vinegar. Add to the salad and combine with your hands gently. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Let sit for about 20-30 minutes before eating, to let it all soak in!
N.B.
Some people prefer it with just a little more "zing". Add an additional 1/4 cup of vinegar if that's you.