Cheating purgatory: Zuni's bread salad

There's an old saying amongst Italian (why do we always preface "saying" with "old?" Are there no NEW sayings?): "you spend one year in Purgatory for every crumb of bread you waste." Well, since Annalena is going to be doing at least a few eternities there, she doesn't want to add too many more years to her sentence with wasting bread. So today, she finally undertook something she should have done years ago: Zuni's bread salad.
Some background, ragazzi. Very early on, Annalena posted the recipe for Zuni roast chicken. At the restaurant, it may be the very best chicken ever. In your home, it is the best and easiest roast chicken you will make. Promesso. In the restaurant, it is always served with a bread salad. Keith, the "king of carbs," my buddy love, professes to like the bread salad better than the chicken, and he may be onto something there.
In any event, perhaps some celestial being knows why Annalena has not made this before. She certainly doesn't. But faced with the remnants of too much bread baking from week last, she pulled out the book, read the recipe and of course, modified it.

This is really good. In fact, it is TOO good. You should make it, but you really should not be around the kitchen with it, because, well...

Anyway, here we go. You need some good quality bread that has staled a bit. We had some of our left over whole wheat semolina bread. A bit more than half a pound of it, because you're going to take the crust off and make bread crumbs out of it (yes, you are. Promise me). Now cut the crust free bread into cubes, and toss them in a bowl with some olive oil, until you've got them nice and coated. Put them on a tray and run them under the broiler, for about two minutes. Then, protect your hands, turn them as best you can, and do it again, for a good minute or so. Some will char, and that is just fine. Dump them into a bowl, and mix a quarter cup of olive oil and about four tablespoons of white vinegar (or, champagne vinegar) with some salt, and pour that over the bread. Let it sit. It won't sog, mirabile dictu (my classical scholar friends will identify that immediately).

Get yourself about two tablespoons of currants... or raisins (I shall explain), and immerse them in some red or sherry vinegar. Let them plump for about an hour if you can.

The original recipe calls for currants. Annalena HAS currants in the house. She has currants all over the house. She saw them yesterday, but doesn't remember where. So she used golden raisins instead, which will be fine. But if you have and can find your currants, use them. And if you can find Annalena's, please tell her where they are.

Also, get about a quarter cup of pine nuts, and either toast them in a pan over a flame for about two minutes, or if you happen to be baking the chicken, or something else, do this in the oven. Toss the currants/raisins, the pine nuts and the red vinegar into the bread and taste. Taste every inch of the way here, and season as you go, because breads are different, vinegars are different, etc.

Up to now, I have followed the recipe of Zuni pretty much exactly. Now, however, we are going to diverge. If you happen to have some extra greens around the house (which we did. Another example of too big a set of eyes and too big a bag at the farmers market), saute' them in some olive oil, and when they're soft, toss them in with the bread as well. If you don't have them, or if like Ms. N of Texas and Michigan you can't stand greens, cook up some scallions and garlic and add them.

And really, now you have your salad. BUT... if you happen to be roasting the Zuni chicken when you make this, and you want to gild the lilly, you know those drippings on the bottom of the pan? You know that juice that pours out when you cut into the bird?

Yeah, you know where it's going. And you're going to do it, too.

Seriously, ragazzi, this "salad" is so wicked good, and you know there are times you have left over bread. Cut short your stay in Purgatory, and make this side dish. You'll come back to it, the same way you do the chicken.

You see this, Sue S? I KNOW you're gonna make this.