049 / 75 · Something Alongside
Tomato and Peach Bread Salad
2 meal-sized salads · Active 15 min · Total 25 min
Print recipe · PDFRipe peaches and tomatoes make a juicy bread salad with basil and crisp pan-toasted bread. The fruit provides most of the dressing, so use peaches with real flavor rather than hard fruit that needs cooking. This is a fresh-market meal assembled shortly before eating.
Toast for texture, not dryness
A little oil in the skillet gives bread golden surfaces while leaving its center chewy. Let it cool briefly before tossing with fruit. Very dry croutons take longer to soften; very soft bread collapses at once. Aim for pieces that can soak up tomato juice yet still be recognized after the short rest.
Catch every useful juice
Cut tomatoes and peaches over the bowl so their juices stay in the salad. Add vinegar sparingly, because the tomatoes may already be tart. Tear basil at the end rather than finely chopping it hours ahead. Toss, rest for five minutes and serve. If you need to prepare components earlier, keep bread separate and fruit refrigerated, then combine at the meal. This salad is at its best with crisp and juicy textures still distinct.
Ingredients
- 4 oz crusty bread, torn into bite-sized pieces (115 g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (30 ml), divided
- 2 ripe peaches, pitted and cut into wedges (250 g prepared weight)
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges (300 g)
- 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar (5 ml)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves (5 g)
Set out
Skillet, Large mixing bowl
Allergens
Wheat. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium heat. Toast bread for 4–5 minutes, turning, until golden outside but still chewy. Cool briefly.
- Cut peaches and tomatoes over the bowl to catch their juices. Add remaining oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Fold in bread and torn basil gently.
- Rest for 5 minutes, toss once more and serve.
Buy for the next meal
Soft ripe peaches travel poorly in a crowded storage crate. Choose just enough for the meal and protect them from heavy tins on the way back to camp.
A useful detail
If fruit is exceptionally juicy, add bread gradually so it absorbs enough liquid without sitting in a deep pool.
Another way
- Use nectarines instead of peaches.
- Add 2 oz (55 g) torn mozzarella at serving time; this adds milk.
Keep it well
Best immediately. Refrigerate prepared fruit within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below. Use dressed leftovers within 1 day. Store bread separately for make-ahead preparation.