Tuscan Bread Salad (Panzanella)

This dish was a total leftovers result of our fabulous Fondue Feast from the First of August. The First of August is our National Day in Switzerland. Normal people stick to barbequing and salads. Being in the middle of summer and everything... But we have really enjoyed having either Raclette or Fondue (traditional heavy cheesy winter dishes) outside. This is marvelous as it is a very communal eating experience and you have the added bonus of not smelling the lingering odor for the next three days. Since we had Very Important Guests it was extra nice to share this very Swiss dish...

But as a result we were left with a large amount of already cubed bread that was going stale. I remembered seeing Jamie Oliver do something like this on one of his shows (Couldn't find out which one) and I had actually tasted one at my school cafeteria a few years back. Therefore I improvised.

The beautiful thing about this dish is that it can be adapted to whatever you have in your cupboard or whatever is in season... be  creative with it! It will be extra delicious in summer when the tomatoes are really at the height of their season.

My version went roughly like this:
Stale bread, cubed or torn to pieces
Fresh rosemary or other herbs, two sprigs finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Tomatoes, three large ones cubed
Basil, torn
Vinegar of choice
Capers, a couple of teaspoons
Black olives, one big handful sliced
Anchovies, two or three finely chopped (optional)

1. Toss the bread with the oil, chopped herbs and salt. Then bake in a 180° oven until golden and crunchy.
2. Meanwhile prepare a classic tomato salad with your other ingredients and dress it with your usual vinaigrette (1/3 vinegar, 2/3 oil), making sure you have slightly more dressing than usual.
3. When your croutons have cooled down you can mix them into the salad and serve immediately.

You want the croutons to soak up the dressing, yet retain some crunch. Use whatever you have or like (artichokes, peppers, cucumbers...).