Curtis Stone's tomato and bread salad with BBQ eggplant and capsicum

It's party season, you're cooking outside, and all you want to do is make the most of those beautiful summer vegies, like eggplant, capsicum and, of course, juicy, ripe tomatoes. Well, here's a great way to do it all with my Tomato Bread Salad with Barbecued Eggplant and Capsicum. 

So, let's start with the bread. Get some olive oil into a pan and then, over a medium-high heat, what you're going to do is add the bread. Get yourself a pair of tongs and just turn them over so you're getting that beautiful brown caramelisation on all corners. Once they're beautiful and golden brown on all sides, just like that, I take them out of the pan and onto a wire rack so that they can drain off any excess oil. 

Now for the vegies. I'm going to take some of the oil that's left in the pan and then brush it over the capsicums and the eggplants, sprinkle it with a little salt, then barbecue until they're beautiful and tender. You want to get them nice and charred as well. Now, if you want to get ahead and fry the bread and barbecue the vegies the day before, of course you can. Just keep the bread in an airtight container at room temperature and keep the vegies covered and in the fridge.

Now, I always like to make my own vinaigrette. In just a few minutes, you can take any salad to the next level. All you really need is equal parts vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. And I'm going to do it with a little bit of smashed garlic cloves and a sprinkle of salt. Just whisk it until it looks like it's kind of a creamy consistency and you'll know you've emulsified it. 

The vegies are looking beautiful. Let me just give them another turn. Now, don't be shy - don't think you're going to overcook them because eggplant and capsicum do need to be cooked quite well. Have you ever had eggplant that tastes a little bitter? It's usually because it's undercooked. Once they're cooked, you cut them into pieces about the same sort of size as the bread - 2 to 3 centimetres. Then you put the bread in one bowl with some of the dressing and a little bit more of that vinegar. And then just a little more vinegar. And then give those croutons a nice toss. They'll start to soak up that beautiful flavour instantly.Then get a large bowl for your vegies. Now you've already got that beautiful smoky flavour from the eggplant and the capsicum. Now add the crispness with the tomato and the freshness of the beautiful cucumber. I've also got a little bit of chilli, just for a little bit of zing. Add that to taste -if you like it spicy, add a lot, if you don't, don't add too much. I've also got a few of these beautiful little cherry tomatoes.Toss it together. And then you add that beautiful vinaigrette. Hold back the majority of the garlic. You can use your tongs or you can pick up the bowl and give it a bit of a toss like that. And then I like to season it with salt and pepper.

Have a little taste. Mmm! Something so simple, but it's so delicious.

For the last step, it's just to folding those beautiful bread croutons. Give them a really light toss. And then you just serve this upon a beautiful big platter. You can serve at room temperature,you can serve it still a little warm if it's just come off the grill. It actually helps to warm through those tomatoes ever so slightly. And the flavours and textures are just so, so good. If you taste my vinaigrette, you're probably goning to think,"Ooh, it's a little bit acidic." But don't worry - once it mixes with the sweetness of the tomatoes and really coats those vegetables, you need vinaigrette to be really quite punchy. I finish this off with some beautiful fresh herbs.

I've got some basil and some oregano. There you have it. It's an incredible salad to bring to a party or even add to your own menu when you're hosting. It doesn't take long to put together, but it looks impressive. And let me tell you, it is full of flavour.