:: 4-ingredient recipe :: Peaches and poppyseed dressing are longtime pals, but here, we’ll add some crunchy, refreshing slices of cucumber and bits of lightly crisped, slightly salty fried bread (crouton-ish bites of goodness). They’re sort of half-croutons – not fully crunchy, but close. A shower of punchy cracked black pepper and some flaky sea salt are all you need to set it off. Minimal ingredients, super fast prep time – this Sweet Poppyseed Peach & Cucumber Salad with Fried Bread is the perfect thing to set out during these last, lazy-hazy late summer weeks …Â
To be honest – full transparency here – the idea for this came straight off the bottle of poppyseed dressing itself. It literally suggests that you serve it with peaches. And so, as I stood in front of my open fridge door with the goal of using up some food, holding this bottle in my hand, I decided to just do what the bottle what telling me to do, and serve the stuff with peaches. Man am I glad I did – this is SUCH a delicious way to “salad,” (salad being a verb in this case). I absolutely love creating interesting, unique salads that don’t actually have a thing to do with lettuce. Here, there is nary a leaf in sight and their needn’t be. Building flavor and texture with other fruits and vegetables – and playing around with unexpected combinations – can result in some incredibly happy accidents, and some wonderfully delicious pairings.
Lastly – can we just talk about the insane versatility of cucumber for a sec? I mean honestly, what CAN’T it do? It brings down the sweetness of the peaches and poppyseed dressing here, bridging the gap between those elements and the saltier fried bread – it’s just the Switzerland ingredient here and I love it for that. Plus, it’s crunchy and green and we needed that, to be quite honest. Lettuce need not apply.
Sweet Poppyseed Peach & Cucumber Salad with Fried Bread
Peaches and poppyseed dressing are longtime pals, but here, we’ll add some crunchy, refreshing slices of cucumber and bits of crunchy, slightly salty fried bread (crouton-ish bites of goodness). A shower of punchy cracked black pepper and some flaky sea salt are all you need to set it off. Minimal ingredients, super fast prep time – this is the perfect salad to set out during these last, lazy-hazy late summer weeks …Â
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil (more if needed, the bread really soaks it up)
2 fresh ripe peaches, thinly sliced
1 hothouse cucumber, thinly sliced (also referred to as an English cucumber)
5 or 6 Hawaiian sweet rolls, cut into bite-sized pieces (or any roll you like – this is hugely flexible)
A jar of poppyseed salad dressingÂ
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Pour the olive oil into a large skillet set over medium to med-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the bread cubes and season lightly with salt. Cook, tossing often, until the bread has become deeply golden brown; about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Arrange the peaches (sometimes I only need 1.5 peaches) and cucumber slices on a large platter and season with salt and fresh pepper. Drizzle with the dressing (alternatively, you can pour the dressing on the platter first and arrange the food on top). Scatter the fried bread pieces around the platter and enjoy.Â
