Panzanella! (An Italian Salad of Tomatoes and Stale Bread)

I just enjoyed the most gorgeous weekend in Southern California. I think the daytime highs never exceeded 75 degrees the whole time--pure heaven after the almost daily 100+ degrees we endure here in Tucson from July through mid September. I went to the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday, and it was fully decked out in its finest summertime regalia! If I still lived in West Hollywood (and I SO wish I did) I would have filled bag after bag with bounties of chilies and peppers, tomatoes, greens, ears of fresh bi-color corn, fresh chanterelles--all organic, by the way--and one or two of the locally baked sourdough baguettes found in a few places at the Market. As it was, I bought about 10 pounds of organic heirloom tomatoes and gingerly packed them in my shoulder bag for the plane ride home. Every single tomato survived the trip, and tonight I'm having an heirloom tomato salad that is delectable beyond description! I hope you'll make it too. (By the way, I had an AWESOME B-L-T for lunch. Will repeat tomorrow!)

Panzanella!

Makes 4 large portions, 2 if you are a tomato addict like me. All you need to add for a great meal is perhaps some grilled chicken or shrimp... and a glass or two of chilled Pino Grigio!

2 large heirloom tomatoes (or other vine-ripe, full flavored summer tomatoes)
1 large cucumber, peeled and seeded
21 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced or halved
1 tablespoon good red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 - 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled into large chunks
1/4 cup basil chiffonade (thinly sliced basil leaves, or you can chop them if you wish)
1 - 1 1/2 cups day old sourdough or Italian bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil--the best you have on hand

Core tomatoes and cut them into bite size chunks. Slice cucumber into 1/4 inch slices. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the olives and drizzle the salad with the vinegar. Toss briefly with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserving 1/2 cup of the juice. When ready to serve, add the cheese, basil and bread to the vegetables. Whisk the olive oil into the reserved juices. Season the dressing with additional salt and pepper as needed; add more red wine vinegar if you like. Toss gently with the salad and serve.

Note: Thinly sliced red onion, scallions and radishes are great in this salad, too. Just make sure that tomatoes get the starring role.