Salmon Panzanella

Yesterday I went to Costco. I have a great love for Costco and the whole concept of buying in bulk. Only having to buy toilet paper ever 6 months is a great feeling. The fish looked extremely good yesterday (meat at Costco is a grade higher in quality than grocery stores, which I think is a fun little fact) anyway, so I decided to stock up. A package of catfish, one of salmon and another of trout. All in all 30 dollars of fish that would make 10 great meals for us. A good investment I think. There is a point to this story, I swear.

I got to the check out line and put my food on the conveyor belt (pb, jelly, la brea bread, fish and tp) and the man in front of me started to stare at my purchases. Not just notice, but stare. I looked up and him and all he said was "nice looking catfish". I nodded in agreement thinking how I've never had a compliment on catfish before, usually I have people questioning my choice. Then came the checker.

"That's a lot of fish"
"yup"
"You know fish spoils pretty quickly"
"oh yes, I know"
"do you have a cat or something?"
"No, we just like fish. I will be freezing quite a bit of it."
"Oh, right"

Why if I spent a hundred dollars of meat would no one have bated an eye, but 30 dollars on fish and I'm seen as absolutely crazy?

Anyway, after all that I thought at great length as to what I would do with salmon that day. Here it is- and I must say I think it was genius.

Salmon Panzanella (Bread Salad) scaled for 2

1/2 loaf hearty bread, sourdough is what I used, cubed
1 salmon fillet, skin removed and cubed
1 c chopped tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic cloved, minced
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 t cumin
1 t coriander

other additions that I did not add but would have been great: olives, capers, lemon juice, roasted peppers (this is making me want to make it again soon and make sure I have these ingredients around)

1. Toss salmon with all ingredients except bread. Let marinate for 1-2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and toss bread on.
3. Bake for 2 minutes, just so it gets slightly dry
4. Add other ingredients and toss around so the bread soaks up some of the juice
5. Return everything to the oven for 5-10 minutes- until the salmon is cooked
6. Serve warm, add basil as a garnish if you wish