Rustic Greek Panzanella

This is one of the sexiest salads I have ever seen. Admittedly (and shamefully) I am not a huge fan of tomatoes...or cucumber for that matter (yikes!) BUT I appreciate the magic that a salad of colours so vibrant they could rival the rainbow, can provide. It can make the fussiest of salad eaters' jump in with amazing gusto. It helps that it also includes the most delicious rustic bread soaked in oil and to-die-for feta cheese!

Let me know if this one is good enough for the upcoming TV appearance!

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa-How easy is that? By Ina Garten

Serves 4

Ingredients:
¼ cup good quality olive oil
3 cups, roughly torn rustic bread (great for using up day-old bread!)
Salt
½ Lebanese cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced 1cm thick
1 yellow capsicum, seeded and large-diced
½ punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
½ small red onion, thinly sliced in half rounds
100g Greek Feta cheese (or your favorite, but this is just gorgeous!)
Approx. 15 olives, pitted

Dressing:
½ cup good olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Method:

Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the bread, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat with the oil. Cook over medium heat for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp. Set aside.

Place the vegetables in a large bowl and toss together.

For the vinaigrette, combine vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard, 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper in a small bowl and whisk together. Whisking constantly, slowly add the ½ cup olive oil.

Add the bread, feta and olives into the vegetable mix and pour over the vinaigrette, toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavours to develop. Season to taste and serve at room temperature.

Note: This is to-die as a side with lamb or beef skewers with some Greek yogurt or on its own as a main.