panzanella

Chad has a crazy, crazy food dislike: tomatoes.

I don't understand it. He's ok with pizza, he's ok with pasta sauce, but put a sliced tomato on anything? Yuck. He literally pulls them to the side, and I pick them off his plate.

Because to me, there's nothing better than a gorgeous, bright, colorful summer tomato -- I could eat nothing else all day. The only thing that's even better? This gorgeous tomato-bread salad, tossed with a little oil, vinegar and some fresh basil. Beautiful enough for a restaurant, simple enough for a weeknight dinner. Does it get any better than that?

Panzanella

INGREDIENTS

2 pints cherry tomatoes, mixed red and yellow, cut in half

4 cups crusty bread (sourdough or french), cut into chunks the same size as the tomatoes

25 stems of fresh basil, torn into little pieces

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Fleur de sel

Fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

Toast the bread for about 3 minutes, until just crispy on the outside. Mix everything together and let marinate, covered, at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Serve.