Tomato, Strawberry & Goat’s Cheese Panzanella

Preparation Notes

plus 40 mins resting time

Ingredients

• ½ full-size stale ciabatta loaf or ¼ stale sourdough loaf, torn into bite-size pieces
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
• 150ml extra virgin olive oil
• 5 large plum tomatoes, roughly chopped, or a selection of mixed tomatoes
• 200g ripe but firm strawberries, hulled and halved
• 2 tsp table salt
• 1½ tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cucumber, de-seeded and chopped into chunky slices
• 150g soft goat’s cheese, broken into 1.5cm chunks
• ½ red onion, finely sliced
• 4 sprigs basil
• 2 tsp runny honey, plus a little extra for drizzling

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200⁰C / fan 180⁰C / gas 6.
2. In a large bowl, add the bread and 100ml olive oil. Season well with sea salt and pepper. Stir until the bread is well coated. Set aside for 20 minutes.
3. Spread the bread pieces on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 5-10 minutes until crisp and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
4. While the bread is toasting and cooling, salt the tomatoes: Place the tomatoes in a sieve over a bowl. Add the table salt. Stir well. Set aside for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, to draw out the excess juice from the tomatoes. Reserve the tomato juice for the dressing.
5. While the tomatoes are salting, prepare the strawberries: Place the strawberries in a bowl with a small pinch of salt and the honey. Stir gently and set aside to soften for 10-15 minutes.
6. Make the dressing: In a jug or small bowl, add the remaining oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and juice drained from the tomatoes. Mix well.
7. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, strawberries and any juices, cucumber, red onion, and bread. Pour the dressing over the salad and set aside for 10 minutes for the dressing to be absorbed.
8. Just before serving, tear the basil leaves onto the salad, season generously with black pepper, and gently fold in the goat’s cheese. Drizzle on a little honey just before serving.