Vegetable Panzanella with Tuna

Make sure your bread is dry so the croutons won't get soggy when tossed with the dressing. If you're using the fresh bread, bake the bread cubes at 350º for 5 minutes. Serve this salad immediately, while the bread is still crunchy.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Ingredients

• Vinaigrette:
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh basil
• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 
  Salad:
• 2 1/2  pounds  cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced (about 4 cups)
• 1 1/4  cups  diced zucchini
• 1  cup  diced red bell pepper
• 3/4  cup  halved pitted kalamata olives
• 1/2  cup  thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 3  tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1  (6-ounce) can albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked
• 4  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed day-old whole-wheat bread (about 13 [1-ounce] slices)

Preparation

To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 6 ingredients; stir with a whisk.

To prepare salad, combine cucumber and next 7 ingredients (cucumber through tuna) in a large bowl. Add bread. Drizzle with vinaigrette; toss gently to combine.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

298 (30% from fat)

Fat:

10g (sat 1.7g,mono 6g,poly 1.8g)

Protein:

13.6g

Carbohydrate:

41.1g

Fiber:

5.9g

Cholesterol:

9mg

Iron:

4mg

Sodium:

668mg

Calcium:

109mg