Panzanella (Summer Tomato & Bread Salad)
I never throw away bread. I use stale bread for my meatballs, for stuffings and for breadcrumbs. I always have some hanging around.
Day-old bread inspires panzanella, a simple summer tomato and bread salad. Some of you asked for this recipe based on the classic dish from Florence. I love my rustic version. You can get fancy and make crustless croutons in the oven but who wants to turn on a hot oven in the summer. Make it my way!
I’ve been making this salad a lot since prime heirloom tomatoes hit the market. Tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced onion bloomed in red wine vinegar, basil, cubed bread, extra virgin olive oil. That’s it. Make sure you use the best ingredients. This is the time to break out your best fruity Italian olive oil.
I only make panzanella in the summer when I can get big, juicy, ripe tomatoes. When the local heirloom tomatoes are gone from the farmer’s market, the panzanella is gone from my table.
Put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well and let the salad sit for a half-hour to create the juices that moisten the bread. How easy is that?
Try to get a little bit of everything in each bite. The tomato is sweet, the cucumber crunchy and the marinade-soaked bread ties everything together.
Serve panzanella as part of an antipasti platter or as a side for fried seafood, grilled or roasted sausage or meats. (This is the salad I paired with the fried shrimp in Sunday’s post.) Sometimes panzanella with some cheese and salami or prosciutto on the side is my summertime lunch or dinner.
Buon appetito!
Panzanella (Tomato & Bread Salad)
Ingredients
- 2 ripe summer tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- 1/2 red onion
- 12 leaves basil
- 2 thick slices day-old rustic bread, cubed
- 3 tablespoons EVOO
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooking Directions
- Cut the onion half and in half again. Thinly slice the half onion you quartered.
- Put the sliced onion and vinegar in a bowl big enough to hold all of the ingredients. Set aside while you make the salad. The vinegar will bloom or mellow the onion flavor.
- Quarter the tomatoes and cut into 2-inch cubes. Put the tomatoes in the bowl.
- Peel the cucumber, cut in half and scoop out the seeds.
- Cut the halves in half and slice into 2-inch cubes. Add to the bowl with the tomatoes.
- Rip the basil leaves into pieces and add to the bowl.
- Add the EVOO, salt and pepper to the bowl.
- Gently mix well and set aside for 20 minutes. (The salt draws out the tomato liquid to form the marinade with the EVOO and vinegar.}
- Cut the bread into 2-inch cubes. Add to the bowl with the tomatoes. Mix well so that the bread absorbs the marinade.
- Lightly sprinkle EVOO on top and serve at room temperature.
Thanks, Gianni, I can’t wait to try it!