Tuscan Bread Salad

The bread's the star in this excellent salad.

Vegan. Hands-on time: 5 mins. Total time: 5 mins.

Contributed by Mike Lewis (June 2005).

If you haven't had the pleasure of eating authentic Tuscan bread, do yourself a favor: track down a baker or delicatessen that sells it, and treat yourself to a loaf. Baked from a sourdough base and traditionally made without salt, it has a firm texture and a wonderfully rich flavor.

This somewhat unusual recipe uses Tuscan bread to liven up what would otherwise be a fairly pedestrian salad. It works best if the bread is slightly stale, although that's not essential. If you can't find Tuscan bread, you can easily get by with a light rye or a sourdough instead.

These quantities will make a tasty side salad for about six people.

Ingredients

• One small (8-oz, 250 g) loaf of Tuscan bread
• 1 small cucumber, cut into large chunks
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 6 - 8 salad tomatoes, halved
• A few lettuce leaves
• A few leaves of fresh basil (if available)
• 5 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. wine vinegar
• Juice of a small lemon

Method

Cut the bread into large chunks. Place in a service bowl, along with the cucumber, onion, tomatoes, lettuce and basil. Mix the oil, vinegar and lemon juice, and pour on the salad. Mix thoroughly.

Note on quantities and temperatures:
Quantities are given in American (cups), imperial (oz, fl oz) and metric (g, ml) units. Do not mix the units - use one or other system throughout the recipe.
See also How much does a cup weigh?
oz = ounces, fl oz = fluid ounces, g = grams, ml = milliliters, tsp = teaspoons, tbsp = tablespoons.
Oven temperatures are given in degrees F (Fahrenheit) and C (Celsius).
For fan-assisted ovens, reduce the temperature by 20F or 10C.