Panzanella #ImprovCookingChallenge

This month’s Improv Cooking Challenge, hosted by Kristin of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, is tomatoes and peppers…a perfect pairing for the August which marks the arrival of ripe garden tomatoes in my neck of the woods. Surprisingly, I could not come up with one single appetizing dessert with this combination, so my thoughts went straight to the panzanella salad. Traditionally made of only rustic bread, juicy ripe tomatoes, red onions and dressed with red wine vinegar and olive oil, the panzanella of today has morphed into much more complicated forms. My version includes red bell peppers, English cucumbers, and capers. It may not be the most authentic, but it is darned tasty.