Smoked Honey Tomato Peach Panzanella

Panzanella works when the tomatoes season the bread, not when the bread turns to paste. Salt the tomatoes first, catch every drop of their juice, then build the dressing in that bowl with TGCS Co Smoked Honey Mustard. Toast the sourdough until the corners snap but the middle still has some chew. Fold in ripe peaches and basil at the end, rest it for ten minutes, and eat it while the bread still pushes back. Serves 4.

What you need

Food (salad):

1 1/2 lb ripe mixed tomatoes, cut into bite-size wedges

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

5 cups day-old sourdough bread, cut into 2.5 cm cubes

1/4 cup olive oil

2 ripe but firm peaches, cut into thin wedges

1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced

1/4 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn if large

Freshly ground black pepper

Food (dressing):

1/4 cup TGCS Co Smoked Honey Mustard

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 small garlic clove, finely grated

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Equipment:

Rimmed sheet pan

Large colander

Large mixing bowl

Small bowl

Whisk

Flexible spatula or large serving spoon

How to cook it

1. Heat the oven to 425 F with a rack in the centre.
2. Set the colander over the large bowl. Toss the tomatoes with 1 tsp salt in the colander and leave them for 20 minutes. The surfaces should turn glossy and at least 2 tbsp of tomato juice should collect below. That juice is part of the dressing, so do not pour it away.
3. Toss the bread with the 1/4 cup olive oil and remaining 1/2 tsp salt on the sheet pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, until the corners are deep gold and crisp but the centres still give when pressed.
4. Lift the colander away. Whisk the TGCS Co Smoked Honey Mustard, cider vinegar, and garlic into the collected tomato juice. Stream in the extra-virgin olive oil while whisking until the dressing looks smooth and amber-gold. Taste it. It should be sharp enough to wake up the bread, with smoke and honey behind the vinegar.
5. Put the red onion in the small bowl and cover it with cold water for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry. This keeps the onion crisp while taking the raw burn out of the salad.
6. Add the warm toasted bread to the dressing and fold until every cube has touched the bowl. Leave it for 5 minutes. DO NOT SOAK IT UNTIL SOFT. You want seasoned edges and a chewy middle.
7. Add the drained tomatoes, peaches, cucumber, and red onion. Fold gently from the bottom so the tomato wedges stay intact and the peaches do not smear through the dressing.
8. Let the salad rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Personally I test one bread cube from the bottom of the bowl. It should bend before it breaks, not collapse between your fingers.
9. Fold in the basil, add black pepper, and taste for salt and vinegar. Spoon the panzanella onto a wide platter with the tomato and peach wedges facing up, then scrape the last dressing from the bowl over the bread.
10. ENJOY!