One of my all-time favorite summer meals is a BLT sandwich with a side of sweet corn. I grew up eating it on a weekly basis during the summer and now, especially when tomato season is at it's peak, I crave like no other.
So when I came home from our weekend in Iowa to my heirloom tomato plant bursting with ripe tomatoes, I knew it was time to satisfy my cravings for a BLT. The problem, though, with making a BLT is that you really only need one tomato for a few sandwiches. This was definitely not going to take care of my abundance of tomatoes.
I had been planning on making a more traditional panzanella with just tomatoes but figured, why not turn the BLT into a bread salad?
Panzanella is perfect for people who love the "good stuff" in salads. You know, everything except the lettuce. Except since the "L" in BLT's is imperative, this panzanella does have lettuce. And while I usually just use mayo on my BLT's, I made a lighter buttermilk dressing for this salad which was ideal for not weighing the bread chunks down.
This was such a perfect summer meal, with a side of sweet corn of course. The chunks of grilled bread, the smoky bacon, sweet and juicy tomatoes, and the basil-specked buttermilk dressing - all just perfect together. This would also work well as a side dish. In fact, it would be perfect to bring to a potluck or barbecue. Enjoy!
Panzanella is one of my favorites!!! This BLT version sounds completely fantastic. Also, totally jealous of your tomato plant - I can never keep them alive!
We were going to have blts tonight, but I might have to switch things up and make this panzanella! It sounds incredible!