Tuscan Chopped Salad

I’m going to be completely honest with all of you, lately I just haven’t been in a good cooking space.  I know, it’s scary!  But don’t worry too much because I have figured it out.  For a couple of months I was trying to watch my spending be a little more tight with my money.  One of the first things that I stopped buying was cooking magazines.  I guess I get a lot of inspiration from looking at hundreds of recipes and reading the magazines word for word from front to back, sometimes several times through. 

I figured this out one evening this week when I took out a stack of old magazines that were kicking around.  All of these ideas started flowing and I felt like my old self again.  What does all of this mean?  Go to Chapters and buy all of the magazines I can!  Well 3 of them to be exact.  With the official start of summer just around the corner all of the magazines are BBQ/summer inspired.  So that’s what you’re going to get for the next little while.  I spent last night doing my first and second scans through each magazine and there are a ton of recipes I want make so you’re all in luck.

Here’s the first one, Tuscan Chopped Salad.  Served with a nice lite piece of grilled fish this would make a perfect summer meal.  I think it would work perfectly as a lunch all on its own.  The bread and cheese turn this into a great meal salad.  I thought it was great and I plan to bring it to my next family BBQ.  I hope you try it soon.

Tuscan Chopped Salad

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 slices of multi-grain or focaccia bread
• Olive oil
• ½ red pepper
• ½ English cucumber
• 1 container mini bocconcini mozzarella
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halfed
• ¼ cup sliced oil packed sundried tomatoes
• ¼ cup snipped chives
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp capers
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tsp hot red chilli flakes
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450F.  Brush both sides of bread with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cut into 1 inch cubes.  Spread out on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5 minutes, stirring half way. 
2. Slice peppers and cucumbers in to bit size pieces.  Place in a large bowl, add bread, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and chives.
3. Whisk remaining ingredients together in a  small bowl.  Season with fresh pepper. 
4. Drizzle most of the dressing over the salad and toss to mix.
5. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate up to 1 day. 
6. Add remaining dressing before serving.

ENJOY!