Panzanella

Summer is coming and here is the perfect recipe to take to all those summer get togethers you have coming up!  It's super easy to do prep, the most work you do is cut things up!

This panzanella picture here is one I made with fried basil and capers, those are both totally optional, I don't feel they actually added anything to the dish though.

1 baugette cut into cubes about 1/2inch
1/2c Olive Oil
8tbsp butter
3 cloves of garlic sliced
16oz of mozzarella (I buy the packages where it's in small balls and I always buy extra just in case)
6lb vine ripened Tomatoes
1 sm onion (pictured is a purple one but you can use any variety)
Balsamic vinegar
Handful of Basil

Preheat oven 350.   Heat olive oil, garlic and butter over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. Mix Olive Oil mixture and bread cubes together until bread is evenly coated.  Put bread on a baking sheet in a single layer, Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Cut tomatoes in sizes approximate to the bread cubes. Dice onion, and place onion in balsamic vinegar, they will soak it up and add a little bit of extra pop. Cut basil into strips and add to tomatoes.  Add the mozzarella. When ready to serve mix in a bit of Olive Oil into the vinegar and onions to make a dressing, add this to the tomatoes mixture. Then add bread, mix together and serve immediately.

If you  would like to make the fried Basil and Capers you'll need a small pan with oil, heated on medium heat.  Put about 1/4c of capers on a paper towel and kind of pat dry so the don't spatter. Line another plate with a dry paper towel.  Then you simply fry the basil and capers, they cook pretty fast so be ready!