Sausage & Stale Bread Salad (Panzanella)

OH man! This looks so gross but Eliot, Papa and I shovelled it in as fast as we could! I don’t think it would keep, so we ate it all! If I had of had fresh basil, it would have been prettier…. next time!!

French Stick
12 Black Olives, With Pits
2 Capers (heaping) 10 mL I DIDN’T USE CAPERS
2 Ripe Mixed Tomatoes
1 Small Red Onion
1 oz 1 Bunch Of Fresh Basil WISH I HAD OF HAD THIS
½ TBSP Minced Garlic
3 Red Or White Wine Vinegar  I USED KIRKLAND BALSAMIC VINEGAR
5 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Good-quality Lean Pork Sausages I USED BRAUTWAST
2 TSP Sweet Smoked Paprika
1 TSP Fennel Seeds (heaping)
Olive Oil
2 Sprigs Of Fresh Rosemary I USED THYME
10 Ripe Cherry Or Grape Tomatoes
1½ Parmesan Cheese 45 g I USED FETA

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Tear the bread into thumb-sized pieces, place in a roasting pan, and pop into the oven for around 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Meanwhile, pit the olives and place in a small bowl with the capers and a splash of boiling water. I HAD MINE PERFECT, THEN TURNED THE OVEN OFF AND DIDN’T TAKE THEM OUT!! TAKE THEM OUT WHEN THEY ARE DONE. LUCKILY I HAD MORE FRENCH STICK.

Step 2
Roughly chop the 2 pounds of mixed tomatoes, peel the onion and slice as finely as you can, and pick the basil leaves (reserving the stalks and a handful of baby leaves). In a big bowl, toss the chopped tomatoes with the basil leaves and most of the onion, then put half the mixture into a blender with the basil stalks, peeled garlic, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and blitz until smooth. Season, then pour the dressing back into the bowl, add the olives, capers and soaking water, and toss with the toasted bread – it will look like a lot of dressing, but don’t worry, the bread will soak it all up.

Step 3
Squeeze the meat out of the sausages into a cold frying pan and add the paprika and fennel seeds. Place on a medium heat with a splash of olive oil and fry until golden, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. When lightly golden, pick in the rosemary leaves and fry for just another minute.

Step 4
Taste the salad and season to perfection, if needed, then transfer to a nice serving platter and pour the contents of the frying pan over the top. Halve or quarter the cherry or grape tomatoes and scatter over the salad with the reserved baby basil leaves and remaining finely sliced onion. Use a vegetable peeler to shave over the Parmesan, and serve.

From Jamie Oliver