antipasti bread salad
Toasted baguette soaks up all the savory flavors of rich ingredients like artichokes, sundried tomatoes and olives.
Servings 6 to 8
Ingredients
antipasti bread salad
- 6 C white or whole wheat baguette, sliced ¼-inch thick (about 1 to 2 baguettes depending on the size)
- 2 garlic bulbs
- 2 to 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- pinch sea salt
- 1 C marinated button mushrooms
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1 ½ C roasted red peppers in a jar, sliced thinly + 2 tablespoon brine (for dressing)
- ½ C sundried tomatoes, finely chopped (avoid using the sundried tomatoes packed in oil)
- 1 C marinated artichokes, sliced thinly
- 1 C sliced black olives
- 1 C red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 C tightly packed fresh basil leaves, whole
- 2 C tightly packed fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 6 to 8 whole pickled pepperoncini peppers
dressing
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ C red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon brine from roasted red peppers
- 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ C extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Roast garlic and toast bread at the same time.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the bulbs in half crosswise to expose the cloves. Coat the cloves with olive oil and sprinkle each half with a pinch of sea salt. Place all garlic sides in a small baking pan or on a small baking sheet cut side up. Place the baguette slices on the sheet pan and drizzle olive oil over the baguette slices.
- Bake the garlic cloves for 30 to 35 minutes until the cloves are brown and soft to the touch. But set a timer to bake the baguette slices for about 12 minutes or until golden brown, flipping them halfway through the baking time.
- Cool the baguette slices on a cooling rack. When the garlic is roasted, squeeze the cloves from the garlic peel into your large salad serving bowl and set aside. Discard the peel.
- To make the dressing, combine lemon juice, red wine vinegar, roasted red pepper brine, dijon mustard, red chili flakes, salt, ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil in a mason jar and shake until well emulsified or you can whisk together in a bowl.
- Into the large salad serving bowl, add marinated mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, sliced black olives, red onion, fresh basil leaves, fresh parsley and fresh oregano.
- Add the toasted baguette slices. Pour in the dressing. Toss the salad and let it sit for at least 1 hour before serving.
- Top with whole pepperoncini peppers. The bread will continue to soak up the dressing and become more flavorful with time and is still suitable to serve up to 1 day.
Notes
If you can’t find marinated mushrooms in a jar, your grocery store may have an antipasti bar, where you can also get olives or marinated artichokes, or check the deli counter where you can buy marinated mushrooms by weight.
