Bread's not just for sandwiches!
The sandwich has been a staple of office lunchtimes and school lunchboxes for decades now. It’s the original food on-the-go! In fact, about half of the population eats a sandwich every day for their lunch.
However, bread can be and is a great addition at any mealtime – toast for breakfast, bread with dips as a starter or on the side with your soup, and why not finishing off with bread-and-butter pudding for dessert. Bread really is delicious as part of any meal.
Other tempting suggestions include delicious bread stuffing served with roast chicken, simply add onion and parsley. Or for the more adventurous why not try apricot and prune stuffing with a pork loin. Delicious!
In fact, some chefs say that stuffing is one of the very best uses for bread, especially if it’s a day or two old. To save time, why not freeze breadcrumbs, just take some slices of bread as well as the heels at the end of the loaf, blitz them up into breadcrumbs and pop them in the freezer.
Bread that is a couple of days old can also be used to make croutons or melba toast, which is a good alternative to crackers.
It can be served with dips, paté, or soup, or simply buttered for get-togethers with friends and family.
There are lots of inspiring bread recipes such as garlic bread, French onion soup, gremolata crumb, Panzanella salad, French toast…the list goes on!
Below are just two exciting options:
Panzanella Salad from Good Food:
- 800g mix of ripe tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 1½ tbsp capers drained and rinsed
- 1 ripe avocado stoned, peeled and chopped (optional)
- 1 small red onion very thinly sliced
- 175g ciabatta or crusty loaf or any slightly stale bread cut into thick chunks
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Small handful basil leaves
Method: Halve or roughly chop the tomatoes (depending on size) and put them in a bowl. Season well and add the garlic, capers, avocado and onion, and mix well. Set aside for 10 mins.
Meanwhile, tear or slice the bread into 3cm chunks and place in a large serving bowl or on a platter. Drizzle with half the olive oil, half the vinegar and add some seasoning. When ready to serve, pour over the tomatoes and any juices. Scatter with the basil leaves and drizzle over the remaining oil and vinegar. Give it a final stir and serve immediately.
Gremolata crumb is delicious sprinkled over pasta with prawns:
Heat oil in a large frying pan and toast the breadcrumbs over a medium heat until golden brown. When brown remove from the pan and place into a mixing bowl. Add parsley, lemon rind, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and toss to combine, set aside. Ta-Dah!
Read more at:
Linguine with prawns and lemon gremolata crumb
“The Lady’s Assistant” by Charlotte Mason, published by Applewood Books