Panzanella

Toast the sunflower seeds in a pan without fat and the bread slices in the toaster. Set the sunflower seeds aside. Take the bread out of the toaster, let it cool down a bit and then rub the peeled garlic clove. It decreases pretty quickly, but about half should be left over. Cut the bread into bite-sized cubes.

Put four tablespoons of good olive oil in the pan and toast the toasted bread cubes on both sides until golden brown. Take out and set aside. Now add the chopped onion at the same time as the chopped garlic and switch off the pan. The remaining heat should last until the garlic browns slightly. Sprinkle with a pinch of thyme and pour from the pan into the salad bowl along with the rest of the olive oil.

Wash the tomatoes and cut into rings and place in the salad bowl. Cut the cucumber and add it as well. Salt and pepper. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil to flavor them. Chop the basil - you can really take a good handful here - with the ceramic knife and put it in the salad bowl.

The nectarine has no place in the original, but is included in this recipe for taste reasons (I think a ripe pear or two would also taste good). Dice the sheep's cheese (mozzarella would be the original here) and add it. Pour 2 tablespoons of vinegar over it and mix carefully for the first time. Fold in 1 - 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 3 - 4 tablespoons of olive oil again to taste.

Let it steep for half an hour. Only work in the bread cubes shortly before serving and then the roasted sunflower seeds. Make a little more of this salad right away. The next day it tastes even better.

The tomatoes play the main role in this dish. That is why their quality is of particular importance. A greenhouse tomato that has ripened on rock wool, whether organic or not, has the potential to spoil this salad! Namely when it tastes like nothing - even the salad tastes meaningless! We only have Panzanella in summer when I get tomatoes that have grown in the ground. I prefer those from my own garden that are fully ripe. Incidentally, this applies to all ingredients - especially the nectarines. In January there are neither tomatoes nor nectarines of the required quality.