Tomato and Bread Salad with Red Onion

(Panzanella)

In Tuscany, leftover bread is put to many uses: It stars in all kinds of recipes, from appetizers like crostini and fettunta (the Tuscan term for bruschetta) to soups like ribollita and pappa al pomodoro. Stale bread even appears in salads; this one is called panzanella, which comes from the word pantanella, meaning "little swamp." Although the name is unfortunate, it is appropriate: The chunks of bread are first soaked in water, then mixed with the rest of the salad, where they sop up the zesty vinaigrette.

There are several versions of panzanella, but no matter how the salad is made, the bread should be a few days old and coarse in texture. Sometimes wheat bread is used, but the salad is better with white.