This is a fantastic Italian salad that was originally an invention of necessity rather than anything else as Italian cooks waste nothing and this was a way to utilise stale bread and vegetables from the garden.
Despite this less than glamorous history, it’s a great dish to serve as an entree or to even have as a meal on its own.
Serves 2 for an entree but feel free to double it up ...
What you’ll need
- 6 green prawns, heads removed, peeled, deveined and butterfly
- 5 cherry truss tomatoes, halved or 3 roma tomatoes quartered
- A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
- A small handful of shaved parmesan cheese
- 6 thin slices of baguette or 2 slices of sourdough to make the croutons
- 1 garlic clove.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
How to put it together
1. Pre heat your oven to 160C to bake the croutons.
2. Put a heavy based fry pan on a medium heat. Peel/Devein and butterfly the prawns and cook in a little bit of olive oil for 2 minutes either side or until well coloured and cooked. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
3. To make the croutons, cut the baguette slices in half and place on a baking try. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven until golden brown (about 8 minutes). If you’re using large slices of sourdough bread, remove the crusts and break the flesh into chunks and then bake.
4. Peel a garlic clove, and using the end rub each of the croutons a couple of times to transfer the flavour.
5. Place the Prawns, tomatoes, croutons, parmesan and basil in a mixing bowl. Season with Salt & Pepper and drizzle over some good quality extra virgin olive oil. Toss to combine and serve on a nice platter.
