STRAWBERRY, BASIL AND BALSAMIC PANZANELLA

INGREDIENTS

450g strawberries,

hulled and roughly chopped • 1 red onion, finely sliced • ½ a cucumber, diced • salt and pepper • 300g stale bread (a solid country loaf, ciabatta or sourdough are good choices; pre-cut sandwich bread, less so) • 2 tbsp capers • 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • large handful of fresh basil leaves METHOD

1| Put the strawberries, onion and cucumber in a sieve. Toss with 1 tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper and set the sieve over a bowl, along with any juice from the chopping board. Leave to stand for 30 mins – at least 15 if you’ve got a life to be getting on with. 2| Preheat the oven to 200°C. Tear the bread into small chunks and place on a baking tray. Bake for 5 to 10 mins, until slightly toasted. Let cool, then transfer to a salad bowl.

3| Press your strawbs with a spoon to squeeze out any juice that hasn’t collected in the bowl, then empty out the contents of the sieve over the bread. 4| Add the capers – don’t forget to rinse them first if they’re salted, unless drinking seawater is your thing. Give it all a good toss. 5| Whisk the vinegar, garlic and oil into the juice. Season to taste, pour over the salad and toss thoroughly. Tear the basil leaves (it releases the flavour) and sprinkle on top.

6| Now leave the panzanella (oh fine, it’s a fancy word for bread salad) to sit for at least 15 mins

(or up to an hour) at room temperature before serving. Very Jamie Oliver.