Tomato, Strawberry & Shiso Salad with Lemon Croutons

An ode the end of Summer, this salad is both savory and sweet with a bright and lightly spicy gochugaru vinaigrette and homemade lemon croutons.

There’s nothing quite like all of the delicious produce that comes with the late Summertime. This salad is a kind of homage to it, filled with super ripe heirloom tomatoes, sweet and juicy farm fresh strawberries and locally grown herby shiso leaves. The dressing is a bright and lightly spicy gochugaru vinaigrette. It reminds me of am Italian Panzanella salad and includes some simple to make lemon croutons that soak up all the delicious liquids as the salad sits and everything gets fully incorporated.

We’re using Heirloom tomatoes for this since the farmer’s markets are full of them at the moment but don’t hesitate to swap these out for what you have available locally. Something like Kumato Tomatoes, which are more available year round these days is a great option for a substitute. Don’t forget to salt your tomatoes in a bowl once you slice them down.

I’m using some super sweat farm fresh strawberries but you can definitely use what you have available year round.

For our croutons, we’re slicing down a classic style Pullman loaf or Panne Carre into 1 inch(ish) cubes and adding in a good bit of lemon zest and olive oil. I like using this type of bread since it has a really great structure to it and is great at absorbing moisture but feel free to use a crustier variety like a ciabatta if you prefer. I go for a lighter bake on these so that they come out with a decent amount of color but still have a nice springiness to them.

The dressing is a simple emulsification of olive oil, lemon juice, salt pepper and some korean gochugaru. It’s bright, a little fruity, a touch spicy and works great to help tie everything together.

Then we just lay everything in a bowl and mix it all up! This salad can be eaten immediately or over the coarse of a few days. It’s the type that will get better and better as it sits and everything mingles.

I hope you enjoy!

Joey

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