(gentle music) (birds chirping) - My name is Chris Viaud.

I'm the chef and owner of Greenleaf and Ansanm, located in Milford, New Hampshire.

Today we're making a panzanella salad, which is a tomato salad with fresh bread, herbs, and I've also added sliced red onions, cucumbers green beans, and peas.

The feeling of harvesting my own ingredients as opposed to buying them in a grocery store is unmatched.

To be able to have your hands in the soil and dig the dirt and feel the plants themselves, to be able to watch from the seed to the sprout, to the flower, to the fruit or vegetable that's coming from there is just a feeling that you can't really relate to anything else.

Knowing exactly where your product is coming from, that it's not being sprayed with anything, I watched, I grew, I babysat these vegetables until they are what they are today.

(birds chirping) It is a calming factor.

It's very zen to be out in my garden and to be able to experience the growth that is coming through each season.

Now, I'm just taking steps out into my garden and harvesting those vegetables right before the dinner takes place, so I know they're not traveling from long distances, and I know they're just as fresh as can be.

I like to make this salad because it's so simple, (bright music) and it really highlights the ingredients that you're working with.

Two things that I love are tomatoes and fresh bread.

Traditionally, it's made with just day old or stale bread that's cut into cubes, so making the bread myself and growing the tomatoes, it just goes hand in hand.

So when making the salad, it starts with the freshest possible tomatoes that you can find.

From there, you can add herbs or any other vegetables that might be found in the farmer's market or the garden.

And then from there, you need a nice, crunchy, fresh loaf of bread.

And I dressed this with a beautiful épice vinegarette, which is a vinegarette that's made with herbs, peppers, olive oil, and salt, and a little bit of lime juice.

And then, I slice the heirloom tomatoes, and then I just top those with a little bit of fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt, and layer that beautiful salad of tomatoes, peppers, onions and bread, right on top of the heirloom tomatoes.

It just always starts with the best ingredients that you can possibly find.

If you're not able to grow the ingredients yourself, just reach out to the local farmers that are around and see what they might have growing, stop by their farm stores.

Any tips that I can share as a chef is just cook with love and passion.

- Do you want some tomato?

- Tomato!

- Oh, you want another tomato?

- Yeah.

- Do you want a little tomato here?

Yum.

- Mm.

- [Madeleine] Oh dear, lettuce for the garden!

- [Chris] Oh yeah, that's right.

- [Emilee] Yeah, they're from Dada's Garden.

- [Madeleine] Oh, listen.

- [Chris] Remember, you watered the garden too?

- [Madeleine] Yeah.

- [Emilee] Yeah.

- [Chris] (laughs) All right, you wanna eat some?

All right, take a bite.