Panzanella

I am an Italian food NUT.... I ADORE Italian food!

So when a friend of mine told me about Panzanella, I looked at like a dozen or so recipes online for this new Italian food that I had yet to try.... and I found quite a few tasty varieties, but none that really screamed EAT ME!!!!

So I blended together several of them to make my own version.... and then I added my favorite vinaigrette recipe that I always use.... For some reason I can never be satisfied with a recipe until I tweak it

It is SOOOO GOOOOOOOD!!!!


Ingredients

Salad
1 bag of fresh spinach
4 cups day old French bread cut into 1-inch cubes
6 slices bacon, cooked, drippings reserved
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 Tbs. dried basil
¼ cup parmesan cheese
6-8 roma tomatoes
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
3/4 cup red onion, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea Salt

Dressing
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice


Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place a baking sheet in the oven.
In the skillet used for cooking bacon, over moderate heat, add the garlic to the bacon drippings and sauté until it begins to brown, remove from heat. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes in a bowl and toss briskly to coat cubes evenly. Stir in the parmesan cheese and basil. Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a preheated baking sheet, scraping all the seasonings over them. Bake until lightly brown and crunchy on the outside, but still soft on the inside, about 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Chop tomatoes, bacon, olives and onion, combine with mozzarella and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

JUST BEFORE SERVING, blend together the dressing ingredients. Combine the bread with the tomato mixture. Toss salad together with dressing. Serve on a bed of spinach.

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Today, I made this without toasting the bread and without the dressing and pressed it into a 9x13 glass baking dish and baked it for about 20 minutes.... heavenly!