Bread Salad with Roasted Peppers

One of our favorite summertime meals is centered around panzanella, the bread salad of Tuscany.  In a typical panzanella fresh tomatoes take center stage.  In the following recipe – inspired by one presented by Julia Della Croce in her 1996 The Classic Italian Cookbook – roasted sweet bell peppers take over this role.   The resultant salad is intriguingly different but still excellent.  Do make sure to roast and peel your peppers before using them in this salad, as raw peppers will just not have the correct taste and mouth-feel.  If you would like to cut a corner and make this an even easier dish, consider using marinated roasted bell peppers that you’ve already made and have in your refrigerator. 

2 large red or yellow bell peppers
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, mined – or 1 teaspoon dry, crumbled
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small red onion, peeled, cut in half, and very thinly sliced
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons green olives, pitted and sliced
1 pound rustic bread, cut into bite-sized pieces

Roast peppers until the skins are charred throughout.  Place in a plastic bag and let steam for 10 minutes.  Remove skins under running water.  Remove seeds and slice the roasted peppers into ½” wide strips.

Combine the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper, red onion, green onion, and green olives.  Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. 

Toss together the roasted pepper strips, bread, and dressing.   Serve immediately.

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