Grilled Bread Salad
Everyone loves bread salad, which—traditionally at least—was most often made with stale bread. You can wait around for bread to get stale, but really the best way to ready bread for salad is to use the grill or broiler to quickly dry the bread while charring the edges slightly, adding another dimension of flavor to the salad. But watch the bread carefully as you grill or broil it; a slight char is good, but it’s a short step from toast to burned bread. The time you allow the bread to soften after tossing it with the seasonings varies; keep tasting until the texture pleases you. If your tomatoes are on the dry side, you might add a little extra liquid in the form of more olive oil and lemon juice or a light sprinkling of water. Because it’s juicy, almost saucy, and pleasantly acidic, this salad makes a nice accompaniment to simple grilled meat or poultry and has a special affinity for dark fish such as tuna and swordfish.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Start a grill or preheat the broiler; the rack should be 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. Cut the bread lengthwise into quarters. Grill or broil the bread, watching carefully and turning as each side browns and chars slightly; total time will be about 5 minutes.
Step 2
While the bread cools, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, garlic (if using), and tomatoes in a large bowl. Mash the tomatoes with the back of a fork to release all of their juices. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut the bread into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes (no larger) and toss it with the dressing.
Step 3
Let the bread sit for 20 to 30 minutes, tossing occasionally and tasting a piece every now and then. The salad is at its peak when the bread is fairly soft but some edges remain crisp, but you can serve it before or after it reaches that state. When it’s ready, stir in the herb and serve.
Variations
Step 4
Bread Salad Served with Seafood: If you’re serving the salad alongside seafood, consider adding 1/4 cup chopped olives, 1 tablespoon capers, and/or 2 minced anchovy fillets (or a little less of each) to the salad.
Step 5
Bread Salad with Shrimp or Chicken: Grill or broil some shrimp or skinless, boneless chicken alongside the bread (you don’t need as much as you would if you were serving the shrimp or chicken apart from the salad), then add the chunks to the salad.
Step 6
Bread Salad with Tuna: Add a goodly amount of tuna (only the Italian kind, packed in olive oil, please) to the mix.
