Bread Salad

Recipe by Chef Nathan Berg

For the Buttermilk Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 oz apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup sunflower or grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

To prepare the vinaigrette:
Place shallot, buttermilk, mustard and vinegar in medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk until combined. While whisking rapidly, slowly drizzle oil into mixture until fully incorporated. Lastly, mix in fresh dill and season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the Croutons

Ingredients:
1/2 loaf of crusty sourdough bread
2-3 Tablespoons of quality oil (sunflower, olive, grapeseed, etc.)
Salt and pepper

To prepare the croutons:
Preheat oven to 400º. Rip bread into bite-sized pieces.

In a mixing bowl, coat the bread chunks with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and heat in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Croutons should be firm and crispy on the outside but still relatively soft in the center. Allow to cool to room temperature.

For the Bread Salad

Ingredients:
1 pound of fresh green and/or yellow beans
1 cup of fresh grape, cherry and/or pear tomatoes
3-4 cups of sourdough croutons
1/2 cup buttermilk vinaigrette
Salt and pepper

To prepare the bread salad:
Bring large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil.

Snip stem ends from beans. Boil beans for approximately 3 minutes, or until beans are just beginning to soften. Immediately remove from boiling water and place into an ice bath until cool. Strain beans and pat dry.

Halve the tomatoes. Place the croutons, beans and tomatoes together in a large mixing bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Salt and pepper to taste.

Variations
You can utilize add additional fresh vegetables to this salad (grilled sweet corn being the best that immediately springs to mind) or you can substitute different vegetables and dressing/vinaigrettes altogether to suit your specific meal. Sky’s the limit…