Asparagus Panzanella

Total Time: 23 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 3 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb medium asparagus
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
• 8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 small tomatoes, such as red,green zebra,or yellow,each cut into 8 wedges
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4 inch-thick wedges
• 3/4 cup kalamata olive, pitted
• 1/4 cup capers, drained
• 6 slices country bread, 1/2 inch-thick,crust on,torn into 1 inch chunks (like french or italian)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Recipe

• 1 break off and discard the tough ends of asparagus (i save for stock).
• 2 bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil; prepare an ice bath.
• 3 cook asparagus until bright green and just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
• 4 transfer immediately to ice bath.
• 5 drain; place on a clean kitchen towel.
• 6 in a large bowl, combine asparagus, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives, capers, and bread; toss to combine.
• 7 in a small bowl, whisk together red-wine vinegar and olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
• 8 pour vinaigrette over asparagus mixture, and toss until well coated.
• 9 let sit until bread absorbs juices, and serve.
• 10 enjoy!