Italian salad with croutons is a delicate and fragrant snack that will always decorate your festive table. Although at first glance, it seems that the salad is very simple, and therefore perhaps not very tasty. But this is a misleading visual opinion. After all, in addition to tomatoes, cheese and lettuce, the composition of the dish includes an amazing Italian seasoning, which will fill our salad with an appetizing, fragrant smell.
Ingredients for preparing Italian salad with croutons:
- Loaf – 1/2 part
- Olive oil – to taste
- Butter – 100-150 grams
- Medium-sized tomatoes – 4 pieces
- Cherry tomatoes – 8 pieces
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 2 tablespoons
- Salt – to taste
- Ground black pepper – to taste
- Italian seasoning – 1/2 teaspoon
- Spice dried garlic (powder) – 1/2 teaspoon
- Green parsley – to taste
- Lettuce – to taste
Inventory:
- Cutting board
- A kitchen knife
- deco
- A small saucepan
- Bowl – 2 pieces
- Tablespoon
- Cup
- Wooden spatula
- Oven
- Kitchen gloves
- A large grater
- Manual juicer
- Flat serving dish
Preparation of Italian salad with croutons.
Step 1: prepare bread
We put the fresh loaf on a cutting board and, using a kitchen knife, cut it crosswise into slices of thickness no more than 2 centimeters. Then we lay out several slices on top of each other and cut them first lengthwise, and then crosswise into small pieces. Transfer the ingredient to a baking sheet, without greasing it with oil.
Step 2: prepare a creamy mixture with seasonings
Put the butter in a small pan and put the container on a fire less than average. We heat the oil for a while 2-3 minutes. When the cream component melts, turn off the burner and let it cool to temperature 35°-37°С.
Then pour the cooled liquid into a bowl and add ground black pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder to it.
We lightly salt everything and with the help of a tablespoon, mix all the ingredients well to a homogeneous mass.
Step 3: prepare croutons
Using a tablespoon, pour the creamy mixture with seasonings onto the pieces of bread and then mix all the ingredients well. We make sure that the creamy liquid evenly covers all the pieces of bread. In a preheated oven to temperature 180°C with the help of tongs, put a baking sheet and bake the croutons for a while 10-12 minutes until a golden crust forms.
We turn off the oven and with the help of tongs we get a container with the finished ingredient. Toasts should cool to room temperature.
Step 4: prepare the tomatoes
We wash the tomatoes under running water and put them on a cutting board. Using a kitchen knife, cut the vegetable ingredient 4–6 parts, and then cut each slice into small pieces and transfer to a free bowl.
Step 5: prepare cherry tomatoes
Wash the cherry tomatoes under running water and place them on a cutting board. Using a kitchen knife, cut the vegetable ingredient in half and put it in a container with the other chopped tomatoes.
Step 6: prepare parsley
Wash the parsley under running water and, shaking it off, transfer it to a cutting board. Using a kitchen knife, roughly chop our ingredient and transfer it to a bowl with tomatoes.
Step 7: prepare the salad leaf
We wash the lettuce under running water, then shake it off the water and transfer it to a cutting board. With the help of a kitchen knife, cut our ingredient crosswise into wide strips and transfer it to the container with the other chopped ingredients.
Step 8: prepare cheese
Mozzarella cheese is best suited for preparing our dish, as this cheese product has a delicate and refined taste. Using a kitchen knife, cut our ingredient into small pieces and transfer to a free plate. WARNING: if desired, you can grind the cheese with a large grater.
Step 9: prepare lemon juice
Rinse the lemon under running water and transfer to a cutting board. Using a kitchen knife, cut the citrus ingredient into two equal parts. Using a manual juicer, squeeze lemon juice from each lemon half. Then, using a tablespoon, pour the freshly prepared juice into a cup.
Step 10: prepare an Italian salad with croutons
Transfer the cooled croutons to a container with chopped vegetable ingredients. Transfer the pieces of cheese to the same bowl, once again lightly salt everything, add lemon juice and olive oil. With the help of a wooden spatula, very carefully mix all the ingredients.
Step 11: serve Italian salad with croutons
Place the Italian salad with croutons on a flat dish and serve. This delicious dish will decorate your festive table.
Bon appetit!
Advice:
– If you don’t have mozzarella cheese, you can replace it with cheddar cheese, which goes well with vegetables and bread products. You can also use hard cheese.
– To prepare a creamy mixture with seasonings, butter can be replaced with margarine.
– When preparing the dressing for croutons, do not overdo it with Italian seasoning, as an excessive amount of it can spoil the taste of the dish.
