Summertime Bread Salad (Squeak)

Even leftover roasted vegetables can be used to create a new side dish for dinner! First time I've ever eaten or made bread salad. For some reason, mushy bread didn't sound appealing...but boy was I wrong! First of all, the bread isn't mushy and when it soaks up the vinaigrette, it's like heaven in your mouth. So give this one a try!

Ingredients:
1/2 c olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3/4 loaf of french bread
Leftover asparagus & cherry tomatoes (bubble)
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 an English Cucumber, seeded and cut into chunks
1/2 container of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3 tbs chopped italian parsely

Lemony Vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

The Method:

Preheat oven to 425

Place the olive oil and garlic in a small skillet and cook on low heat until garlic is golden. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon.

Cut the bread into 1 inch pieces, place on foil-lined baking sheet and toss with 2-3 tbs of the garlic oil. Season with salt & pepper and place in oven. Toss once during baking. Remove when bread is golden brown.

Toss all the vegetables in a large bowl, mix in approximately 1/4 cup of the lemon vinaigrette.

30 minutes before serving add the bread cubes and toss to combine. Add more vinaigrette if needed.

Lemony Vinaigrette:

¼ c lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tbs + 1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs honey (or more to taste)
1 tbs fresh thyme leaves (3-4 sprigs)
½ c olive oil

Add first 7 ingredients, whisk well until combined. Add olive oil slowly while whisking until an emulsion forms. Store leftover vinaigrette in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and use on salads, roasted veggies etc.