It’s starting. It’s starting. It’s starting!!!
Get pumped. Get in the mood. Get out your pretty sandals and toe nail polish. It’s TIME!
…I’m talking about summer… and not the dreaded jean short, bikini life-styling, good beach hair part of summer that is totally stressful. I’m talking about peaches. With fresh peaches and ripe tomatoes, summer is set! Also, jean shorts are dumb… they’re either getting shorter or I’m getting older. They’re probably getting shorter… just sayin’.
This salad is a summer celebration. Yea… I said it. Also.. there’s bread and butter in this salad because a) I can’t help myself, and b) it’s delicious!
Let’s talk!
Let’s talk about my first sighting of heirloom tomatoes and yellow peaches in the grocery. It’s a bit early for tomatoes but I just had to treat myself. The peaches have an early summer tartness and I can’t wait to get into July to enjoy their candy sweetness.
Also… can we talk about how bread belongs in every salad ever?
In this salad concoction, big bite-sized hunks of bread are sautéed with butter and olive oil Once they’re toasty good, we toss in a load of salted and shelled pistachios, a good sprinkling of sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper.
Don’t eat this straight from the pan like I did. Bread and nuts aren’t considered a real salad without lettuce.
Peaches are sliced. Tomatoes are diced. Bread is readied. Mozzarella crashes the party.
The usual summer suspects.
Salads are meant to be shared.
Sidenote: I wish guys knew these seven very special words… “Do you want to split a salad?”.
That phrase could really be a game-changer in the dating world. (I’m not wrong.)
This salad is entirely satisfying. It’s leafy green and dressed very simply with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It’s topped generously with warm, toasty, and crunchy bread and pistachios. Fresh peaches and tomatoes shine bright… totally ready to show off their summer-selves. When it comes to salads, I under-dress the leaves and heavily season the top with salt and pepper.
It’s summer. Let’s get all up in it!
Tomato and Peach Salad with Buttered Bread and Pistachios
makes 2 servings
2 cups big chunks of bread
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup salted and shelled pistachios
salt and pepper to taste
3 big handfuls clean lettuce
balsamic vinegar and olive oil
1 ripe peach, sliced thin
1 ripe tomato, sliced thin
8 small fresh mozzarella balls, cut in half
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium saute pan over medium heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add bread chunks and toss to coat in fat. Allow the bread chunks to toast and brown until golden on most sides. Add the pistachios and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
In a medium bowl toss together greens and a drizzle of oil and vinegar. Use as much or as little dressing as you’d like. Divide greens into prepared bowls. Top with peach slices, tomato sliced, mozzarella, and bread and pistachio mixture. Top with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy immediately.
Jennie
Had this for lunch…and it was delicious! Left out the lettuce…and didnt miss it at all! Thanks for the idea…it’s the croutons that make it!
heidi
showed this to a friend, and his reaction was “Jesus H Christ in a salad! I have to get to the store!” well done, Joy!
Alison
That salad looks delicious. Really well presented and perfect for a quick and light meal.
meredith s.
I’m eating this for lunch this week….and it is hands down my new favorite salad! It’s pretty much summer in a bowl!!
Puja
Fabulous recipe! Made it for a whole load of people over the weekend, who dropped everything else on the menu for second and third servings of this salad! Yum!
Irene Marie
Made this the other night. It was delicious! I skipped the bread since I am on a diet, but it is still fantastic without them (wish I could’ve had them though!). Left the dressing to the side, so the leftovers were perfect for a quick work lunch. Co-workers were completely intrigued. Definitely keeping this one in my recipe box.
Dalia
It’s not you, shorts are definitely getting shorter. I hate this trend looks like underwear in public!
Michelle
sounds delicious!
Caroline
OMYum! This looks luscious. I picked up some early peaches at our farmer’s market last week and threw those puppies right on the grill alongside some poblano peppers and corn and dumped them right into a bowl of kale with goat cheese. Divine. But, but, but the bread…. I didn’t think about the bread! Next time!
Lori
That looks delicious!
jo
Awesome.. I’ve never made croutons in the skillet. Why not? and with loads of pepper, maybe parmesan cheese too.
Justine
This sounds insanely good! This I have to try!!
Ali
Pardon me? This salad looks insane…in the best way.
jodye @ chocolate and chou fleur
Everything about this salad speaks to me. I’m so jealous of those tomatoes – they look perfect! And the peaches, oh my! I haven’t found and good looking peaches yet, but the second I do I’ll snatch some up and make this salad pronto!
Emalee
I couldn’t help but notice that salad goer number 2 is not a big fan of tomatoes.
Jess
Oh my goodness. Yum. I am adding this to my salad recipe list.
Rebecca
That looks lush!!! The sun is shining and I now have cravings for peaches!
Miss Kim @ behgopa
Summer in a bowl! I LOVE peaches. Perfect salad to have on a summer day. But I hate summer, especially when there are heat waves!!
Sarah | Sarah The Architect
Yummmm! This is my kind of salad. Can’t wait to try it!!
Gabriel
Are those Peaches or Nectarine? I thought Peaches come with hairy , furry skin whereas Nectarine are smooth like Plum.
But it sure looks delicious !!
Jayne
This entire ensemble is cray amaze! I think my favourite part might just be the croutons. Can’t breathe right now.
nessa
Yum!
Katie
Yes, please! And I think I might cry if someone asked me to split this salad – hands off, friends, this girl is about to eat the whole thing.
Sarah @ The Cyclist's Wife
Say no to jorts and yes to peaches & tomatoes!
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan
Bread in evey salad=YES! Those lovely peaches, can’t wait until we finally get some!
J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats
Could not agree more about the bread! If every salad came with some good croutons or a crostini on the side I would never have to order sandwiches at restaurants. I love love salads but having a little hunk of bread nearby just satisfies any lingering carb cravings ;)
Kim
This looks so good but I have long wait until I have peaces and tomatoes! I must live in the wrong part of the country!
Grubarazzi
How pretttty!
Shelly@OHshellsbells
OK. I was here earlier and i could not for the life of me figure out how to leave a comment. Goodness i need more sleep. Crazy rant over…
Anyway… my neighbor has peach trees and has given me an all access pass for the summer. I cant wait for them to bloom!
Mary @ The Kitchen Paper
Ooh I can’t wait for peach season! Here in the arctic circle of Montana peach season comes SO LATE. I die waiting.
Thanks for the lunch inspiration :)
Jenny
My boyfriend and I regularly share a salad. He totally knows those 7 magic words. He’s a keeper.
If I hadn’t spent the morning at the dentist, I’d be at the grocery store right now looking for fancy summer produce to make a salad. Sounds sooo good right now! I bet some fresh basil in there would be amazing too.
annie
peaches are by far the best [food related] part of summer – cannot wait to try this salad! thanks Joy!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
love this salad, like summer on a plate!
Kartik @ Bakeology 101
This is an absolutely beautiful take on the traditional panzanella tomato bread salad. I’ve never thought about putting peach in this salad, but I believe the sweetness would be great. I remember you had made a peach and mozzarella crostini, so I believe that the flavors will meld nicely.
Libby
I just, just posted something on Facebook saying that I was bored with my usual salad routine (generally whatever greens and bottled dressing I have on hand with a chopped tomato and maybe, on an exciting day, a bell pepper) and asking for good ideas.
And then, of course, Joy the Baker blows it out of the water. Thank you for this. I’m printing this out and taking it to the grocery store right now.
Holiday Baker Man
Light and airy for the summer! Thanks.
Belinda @themoonblushbaker
Such a unique combination of sweet and salty. I would love to throw some bacon into this mix, but then again I want to throw bacon into everything. Totally yummy photos
SeattleDee
Bacon? oh yes please!
allie@sweetpotatobites
Those heirloom tomatoes are gorgeous! Love the addition of bread and butter to this salad.
Caits
This looks incredible! A good pinch of salt on top of my salads is so my guilty pleasure… I can feel my blood pressure rising but it tastes so awesome!