Panzanella bread salad

Crunchy Tuscan “panzanella” (bread salad)

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 ripe tomatoes

10 basil leaves

4 slices of Tuscan bread (slightly stale, few-day-old bread)

1 cucumber

1 red onion

Salt and pepper

White wine vinegar

Olive oil

Peel and thinly slice ​​the ​​onion, then soak it in a bowl with water and vinegar in equal parts for at least  an hour. Peel the cucumber, slice it thinly and keep aside. Wash the tomatoes, cut in half, remove the seeds,  cut into small pieces  and keep aside. Cut the bread into cubes, put a small swirl of olive oil in a non-stick pan and heat for a minute or two, pour in the bread and let it toast for some minutes, stirring. Drain the red onion from its soaking water and put it into a large salad bowl, add the tomatoes, cucumber the hand torned basil leaves. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper and a few tablespoons of vinegar. Mix all the ingredients gently with a spoon, taste and, if necessary, add more vinegar. Now add the bread and mix again. Let the panzanella rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving. You can add some other ingredients (mozzarella, olives, bresaola, etc.) according to your taste.