Italian Tomato Bread Salad

For the salad, preheat oven to 220°C / 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Rinse bell peppers, cut into quarters, remove seeds and ribs and place on the baking sheet. Cook bell peppers in the preheated oven until skin gets black bubbles. Remove from the oven, cover with a damp cloth and allow to cool. Peel and cut into bite-size pieces.

Rinse cherry tomatoes and remove stem with a sharp knife. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan, add tomato and sprinkle a hefty pinch of salt and the sugar over top. Cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat while shaking the pan occasionally. Then remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Cut eggplant into thin slices about 3 mm / 1/5-inch thick. Squeeze juice from eggplant slices and pat dry. Heat a grill pan, brush the pan with olive oil.  Place eggplant and zucchini slices on the pan, cook under a preheated oven broiler, watching carefully, on both sides and season with salt and pepper.

Halve bread crosswise and place on a baking sheet with cut edges upwards. Cook under the preheated oven broiler, watching carefully, for 6-7 minutes until golden brown. Peel onion, cut in half lengthwise and cut into fine slices. Rinse parsley, mint and lettuce leaves, pat dry, pluck herb leaves from stems and chop finely and cut lettuce leaves into strips.