Panzanella salad

A Tuscan salad of the ripest, sun-kissed tomatoes and day-old bread – the beauty of this is the way the juices are soaked up by the bread and soften it slightly. This is my basic variation, but feel free to add cucumber, boiled eggs, tuna, anchovies and capers for an Italian vibe.

Ingredients

½ loave	Bread, use day-old bread preferably sourdough or crusty French stick
1	Yellow capsicum
1	Red capsicum
10	Tomatoes, mixed tomatoes (small cherries, large beefsteak, plum, vine, coloured, etc) (Main)
1 pinch	Sugar
1 to taste	Sea salt and cracked black pepper
1 handful	Basil leaves, torn
½ cup	Olive oil, use a fruity variety
1 clove	Garlic, finely diced and crushed
¼ cup	Red wine vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Lay the capsicums on a tray and roast for 20 minutes until the skins are wrinkled.
3. Remove from the tray and leave to cool, then peel off the skin. Halve and remove the seeds, then dice the peppers.
4. Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces, sprinkle with the salt and sugar, toss gently and leave to stand for about 10 minutes.
5. Tear the bread into small pieces.
6. On a large platter, arrange the diced tomatoes (reserve the juices), torn bread, capsicums and fresh basil.