Ah, beloved bread salad! It’s filling, crispy, and so easy to make. Here is my variation with early summer vegetables, but you can make it later in the year with your favorite seasonal veggies.
Ingredients
4 thick slices of day-old country-style white bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small grated garlic cloves
1 small head of broccoli
8 asparagus stalks
10 cherry tomatoes
3½ ounces snap peas
1 small red onion
1 4-inch piece of cucumber
1 bunch of pea shoots
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons good extra-virgin olive oil
Flaked sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the broiler. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.
Place the bread slices on a baking sheet. Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic in a little bowl and brush the bread with the garlic oil on both sides. Toast the bread in the middle of the oven, turning frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes total. Let the bread cool briefly and then cut or tear it into rough pieces.
Break the broccoli into small florets. Remove any woody asparagus stems and cut the rest into smallish pieces. Blanch the broccoli and asparagus for about 2 minutes in the boiling water. The vegetables should still be somewhat firm. Rinse in ice-cold water. Halve the tomatoes and snap peas and thinly slice the red onion. Cut the cucumber into bite-sized pieces.
Toss all the cut vegetables with the pea shoots, bread, balsamic vinegar, and extra-virgin olive oil in a serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper and let sit for 20 minutes before serving.
Recipe by Roasted at https://www.roastedmontreal.com/2015/05/a-salad-for-toddlers.html