Reviewed: Aug. 3, 2006

This is one of our favorite summer salads. The trick is to add the croutons at the last minute. Try adding a ball of fresh mozzarella. We make a meal of this and gazpacho soup as a starter. Wonderful when all the ingredients are summer-ripe.

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Reviewer:

Paula

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA

Living In: Exeter, New Hampshire, USA

Reviewed: Aug. 1, 2006

Very pretty, tasty, and simple. The only thing I changed was the amount of bread. I used about half of the bread called for. I made the vegetable part ahead of time and added the bread just before serving. I will be making this again and again.

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Reviewer:

LUCYFAN83

Reviewed: Jul. 21, 2006

Update: 8/6 (Bright light on this recipe. Used just the crusty part of the Italian bread,which I baked in the oven first. Added salad greens, julienned green pepper, shredded mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan. Mom added sliced black olives to hers, and I did use the red onion this time around. Outstanding!) Original review: 7/21 Well, I did change this considerably. I chopped up the veggies, omitted the onion (used more tomato), added the herbs (used half the basil) along with fresh oregano, dried rosemary, S&P and marinated for about an hour. Served as a salad with a nice fresh loaf of crusty bread on the side, and it was quite nice. (was worried about soggy bread.) Thank you, Tamara.

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Reviewer:

~TAYLOR~

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: New Rochelle, New York, USA

Living In: Palm Springs, California, USA

Reviewed: Jul. 21, 2006

This was wonderful! I didn't add as much basil as it called for and it was still very tasty. I brushed the bread with olive oil and garlic and toasted it for about ten minutes. I also waited to add the bread until right before I served it so the bread wouldn't get mushy. It tastes like brushetta (sp?) in a bowl!

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Reviewer:

AHULK2000

Reviewed: Jul. 21, 2006

I am giving this a 4 because I changed it. I didn't like the idea of soggy bread, so toasted it first then drizzled it with EVOO and rubbed it with a garlic clove. I didn't have enough basil so I added spinach, I didn't use onion. We topped the mix on our plates with the bread and added the vinegaar and oil dressing. All in all a good salad that we will have again.

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Reviewer:

cookinme

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Washington, Maine, USA

Reviewed: Jul. 20, 2006

Well, here's the scoop. Hubby gave this a one, Ash gave it a two and her boyfriend gave it a 3.5. Even though I placed the bread in the oven to get it very crispy and did not add it to the salad until the very last moment, the bread got soggy and that just sent my gang over the edge. According to them, without the bread it would have been a four. I for one, don't mind soggy bread in a nice garlicy oil, but I had to go with the majority on this one.

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Reviewer:

LINDA MCLEAN

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2006

Great simple salad, easy to make and very refreshing on a hot day.

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Reviewer:

sam

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Urbana, Illinois, USA

Living In: New York, New York, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 28, 2006

Disarmingly simple and healthy. Wonderful contrast of flavors, textures and color.

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Reviewer:

PaulaC

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Living In: Hanover, Massachusetts, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 5, 2006

This is my new favorite salad! I used a roasted garlic bread instead of the fresh garlic the first time.. and it was amazing! The second time I made it, I used a rosemary bread and fresh garlic.. and it was good too! I like this recipe, becuase you can play with the ingredients a little bit. Some fresh pepper on top was nice too!

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Reviewer:

Annette

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Whittier, California, USA

Living In: Eagle Rock, California, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 4, 2006

Such a colorful salad. Everyone commented on its summery appearance. We did add baby spinach and toasted the bread prior to adding the dressing, and it was wonderful.

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