Peppery Chicken Panzanella

I had this loaf of Lemon Pepper Bread that was crying for a purpose.  Serving it up as toast for breakfast was out of the question; burning my tongue is not how I want to start my day.  Then I saw a panzanella recipe from the Barefoot Contessa and figured my peppery bread would be deliciously tempered by all those cool, crisp veggies.  I wanted to make the dish a meal, so I added chicken.

All-beige meals look inherently unhealthy, so this dish gets points for being colorful.

Gather your dressing, peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, basil, capers, bread, salt, and pepper.

To start, roast your chicken any way you see fit.  Personally, I like to top chicken with red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper and roast at 350 degrees for 40ish minutes.

Cube the bread and place on a non-greased cookie sheet.  Toss it in the oven with the chicken for 5 to 10 minutes.  This will dry out the bread, which will allow it to better absorb all the flavor of this dish, and it will give your panzanella better texture.

Shred the chicken, halve the tomatoes, slice the basil, chop the peppers, de-seed and chop the cucumber, and mince the onion.  Toss all the veggies, the chicken, the bread, and the capers together in the biggest bowl you own.

Top it all off with your dressing of choice about a half of an hour before serving.

Peppery Chicken Panzanella
adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

• 1/2 loaf Lemon Pepper Bread, cubed, about 6 cups
• 1 pint golden tomatoes, halved, or 2 large tomatoes, cubed
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 30 basil leaves, shredded
• 3 tablespoons capers, drained
• vinaigrettem to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste