Tomato Basil Salad with Kishke Croutons
Since I shared my Lamb Wellington in January, I have been thinking of the perfect way to use this KOL Foods Kishke and although I came up with the idea of making kishke-croutons a while ago, I didn't want the recipe to stop there. It wasn't until the kishke-croutons were toasting in the oven that I decided to make a tomato-basil salad. This dish is inspired by the Tomato Panzanella salad in Chad Robertson's Tartine Bread (pg 183) and I figured it would be the perfect contribution for this month's Kosher Connection.
Back in the day, kishke was the kosher answer to black pudding — a stuffing made from meat and grain. It's often slow-cooked sliced and served in stew, soup or cholent. Although it's easy to make kishke from scratch, if you're looking for a shortcut, KOL Foods make an excellent product that is nitrate free, and is made from natural and organic ingredients.
I didn't want to treat the kishke as a finished product, I wanted use this instead of of traditional bread croutons. The KOL Kishke is delicately seasoned with onion, carrot, paprika, garlic and white pepper and pairs perfectly with this tomato salad, or works well in most soups.
Tomato Basil Salad with Kishke Croutons
- 1lb KOL Foods Kishke
- Olive Oil
- Six to eight large ripe tomatoes
- Fresh Basil
Instructions
- Slice and dice the kishke.
- Lay the diced kishke on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Once the kishke croutons are crisp.
- Dice the tomatoes into cubes that are slightly larger than the croutons.
- Chop two or three leaves of basil and sprinkle over the tomatoes.
- Drizzle with olive oil.
- Add the warm croutons and serve immediately.
It's no secret that I am big fan of KOL Foods and this is another way to push the culinary envelope thanks to KOL. You can see my other KOL Foods recipes here and please check out the other recipes that make up this month's edition of the Kosher Connection.
This recipe was developed exclusively for KOL Foods by This American Bite. See all my KOL Foods recipes.