gazpacho bread salad with spice rubbed grilled skirt steak

Gazpacho Bread Salad with Spice Rubbed Grilled Skirt Steak 

Bread salad 🥗  is a great way to use up garden tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and day old sourdough bread 🥖  I usually make panzanella but I found this recipe that uses gazpacho ingredients with a tomato vinaigrette, so I tried it for dinner last night and we think it's a keeper.  Just for fun I made a basil pesto and gave the gazpacho bread salad a drizzle of pesto before serving it alongside my spice rubbed grilled skirt steak.  Tonight I'm making pasta with the rest of my pesto, kind of like a freebie extra meal that just requires cooking up some dry pasta and most likely making a green salad, using up more of those tomatoes 🍅 , peppers 🌶  and cucumbers 🥒  The skirt steak is the easiest thing in the world to grill, just a quick spice rub, let it rest for thirty minutes at room temperature, grill over high heat to sear-no more than a few minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the steak.  No turning on of the oven during the heat wave that seems to be lasting forever.  I'm just happy to be inside today and not breathing the hot smoke filled air.  There is ash all over outside and I'm also happy to have this food blog as an activity during these scary days.  Please, everyone take care and be safe.

Ingredients and Recipes for Gazpacho Bread Salad with Spice Rubbed Grilled Skirt Steak

Serves 4

for the bread salad

3 cups cubed dry sourdough bread

Tomato vinaigrette, recipe follows *

3 medium tomatoes, chopped (about 1&1/2 cups)

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)

1/4 red onion, sliced thin and chopped (about 1/3-1/2 cup)

1 small jalapeño, thinly sliced and chopped

1/2 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Basil pesto, a few spoonfuls to drizzle on top of the bread salad, if desired.

Place the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onion, parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl, cover and place in the refrigerator while you make the tomato vinaigrette.

for the tomato vinaigrette *

3 medim tomatoes, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon pimentón dulce

Scant tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted

1/2 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, Spanish preferably 

2 tablespoons aged sherry vinegar

Combine the tomatoes, garlic, pimentón, cumin and salt in the bowl of a food processor (or blender) to purée, pulse and scrape down as needed to make a smooth consistency.

With the motor running pour in the vinegar and then the olive oil.

Taste for seasoning.

Toss the bread cubes with half the tomato vinaigrette in a large bowl, set aside for thirty minutes, to allow the bread to absorb the vinaigrette.

Add the chopped vegetables with the parsley and remaining vinaigrette with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with the spice rubbed grilled skirt steak.

for the spice rubbed grilled skirt steak

2 pounds skirt steak, cut in 8 pieces

2-3 tablespoons spice rub, I used Williams Sonoma Steakhouse Spice Rub

Bring the skirt steaks out of the refrigerator at least one hour before grilling.  Rub the steaks with spice rub about 30 minutes before grilling.  Marinate the bread cubes in the tomato vinaigrette at the same time.

Bring the grill to a high heat and sear each side of the steaks for a few minutes for medium rare.

Toss the chopped vegetables with the bread cubes while the steaks rest for a few minutes after grilling.

Slice the steaks on a cutting board, serve with bread salad and basil pesto drizzled on top.