Panzanella

New Haven (WTNH) - Featuring wonderful menus using fresh seasonal ingredients, L'Orcio Restaurant in New Haven is an upscale dining establishment serving contemporary Italian cuisine.

Chef Francesco d'Amuri from L'Orcio was with us this morning to put together panzanella, a simple and tasty salad.

Here is the recipe:

Panzanella
For four

2 heads of red leaf lettuce washed and cut into bite-sized strips
1 small red onion sliced thinly
1 small cucumber peeled, seeded and sliced
2 scallions diced
6 leaves of basil chopped
½ cup of cherry tomatoes cut in half
4 pieces of day-old Italian bread (soak in water and squeeze to remove as much water as possible)
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare all ingredients. In a large salad bowl toss the lettuce, onion, cucumber, scallions, basil and cherry tomatoes. Crumble bread on top. Add oil and vinegar- approximately 2 tablespoons- and 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Toss well and serve.