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Sourdough bread salad with tomatoes, peppers and tomato water dressing on a white platter

Sourdough Bread Salad with Tomato Water Dressing

A Nordic take on bread salad — crisp sourdough croutons, ripe summer tomatoes and peppers, and a dressing built on the tomato water itself.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Draining 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 4 servings (as a side)
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Bread
  • 300 g day-old sourdough bread about ½ loaf, or 6 cups torn into 1¼ inch pieces
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
Vegetables
  • 500 g mixed ripe tomatoes about 1 lb — cherry, green and yellow varieties
  • 3 sweet pointed peppers in different colours; bell peppers work too
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
Tomato Water Dressing
  • 120 ml reserved tomato and pepper water ½ cup — whatever the vegetables release
  • 1 shallot very finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard heaping
  • 2 tpsp white wine vinegar
  • 100 ml neutral oil or olive oil scant ½ cup
  • ¼ lemon, zested
  • black pepper to taste

Equipment

  • Rimmed baking sheet Croutons need room to toast rather than steam
  • Fine-mesh sieve For draining the salted vegetables and catching every drop of tomato water
  • Balloon whisk Emulsifies the dressing properly
  • Microplane zester Fine lemon zest without any of the bitter pith
  • Serrated bread knife Firm day-old crusts need a blade, not pressure

Method
 

Bread
  1. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Cut or tear the sourdough into rough 3 cm / 1¼ inch pieces — uneven edges catch the dressing better than neat cubes.
  2. Toss the bread with the oil until lightly coated and spread it on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden and crisp outside but still with a little give in the middle. Leave to cool completely.
Vegetables
  1. Cut the tomatoes and peppers into generous bite-sized pieces — this salad wants chunks, not dice. Season with the salt and toss.
  2. Tip everything into a sieve set over a bowl and leave for 30 minutes. The salt draws out a surprising amount of liquid, and that liquid is the whole point.
Dressing
  1. Measure the collected tomato and pepper water into a bowl. Whisk in the shallot, Dijon and vinegar.
  2. Whisking constantly, add the oil in a slow stream until the dressing thickens and holds together. Grate in the lemon zest and season with black pepper — but taste before adding any salt.
Assembly
  1. Combine the drained vegetables and the cooled croutons in a wide serving dish. Pour over the dressing and toss gently.
  2. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes before serving, so the bread takes on some dressing while keeping its crunch.

Notes

Chef's tip — the salt does two jobs. Salting the tomatoes and peppers seasons them, and the liquid they release becomes the base of the dressing. That water carries salt, acidity and a savoury depth you can't get from a bottle, which is why there's no added salt in the dressing. Taste before you reach for the salt cellar — most of the time it doesn't need any.
The lemon zest is not optional. A quarter of a lemon sounds like nothing, but it's what lifts the whole dish from pleasant to bright. Add it at the end, and never earlier.
On timing. Dress the salad 5 minutes before it goes on the table. Longer and the croutons soften; shorter and they haven't taken on any flavour.
Use ripe green tomatoes, such as Green Zebra — a green variety that is fully ripe, not an unripe red one.
Bread matters. Day-old whole grain sourdough is ideal: sturdy enough to hold up, open enough to soak. Fresh bread turns to paste.