Save Stale Bread with Panzanella Salad

I love a good crusty loaf of bread, but unless Im having friends over, I can rarely finish an entire loaf before its hard enough to cause injury. At this point, most people would throw the bread away, but my Japanese upbringing always leaves me with a nagging feeling of my mother saying mottainai, or what a waste!.  In Italy, people take a similar approach to food, where nothing is wasted and stale bread is often turned into breadcrumbs. Panzanella salad is another great use of stale bread. Its one of my favorite summertime salads, highlighting the sweetness of sun-ripened vegetables, while harnessing the stomach filling volume of bread. But panzanella salad isnt simply a clever use of old bread and seasonal vegetables.  The salt in the dressing draws out juices from the veggies and the crusty bread soaks it up resulting in a magical mouthful of tender juicy bread with a crunchy olive oil and garlic flavored center. Put simply, this salad is as delicious as it is practical.

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Marc Matsumoto is a culinary consultant and recipe repairman who shares his passion for good food through his website norecipes.com. For Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures. Marcs been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network.