Name: Panzanella Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 300g stale crusty bread (torn into rough chunks); 4 large ripe tomatoes (roughly chopped); 1 small red onion (thinly sliced); Handful fresh basil; 2 tbsp capers (rinsed); 60ml extra virgin olive oil; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Recipes

Panzanella Salad

By littlelane

The Tuscan salad that transforms day-old bread into something extraordinary. Chunks of sourdough absorb a dressing of EVOO, red wine vinegar, and tomato juices until softened and flavour-soaked, then tossed with ripe Italian tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and fresh basil. Quick, refreshing, deeply satisfying the kind of salad that makes you rethink what a salad can be.

LL

Written by

littlelane

Ingredients list:

Stale bread
4 large tomatoes
Handful of cherry tomatoes
Bunch of picked basil leaves
1/2 red onion
1 garlic clove (grated)
Vinegar (I used balsamic)
Salt
Pepper
A lot of very good extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Difficulty: Easy
Feeds: 4 people
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Prepare the Croutons: Cut the stale bread into cubes. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toast in a preheated oven at 180°C for 10–12 minutes, until golden and crisp. Set aside to cool.
Soften the Onion: Thinly slice the red onion and place in a bowl. Add vinegar and a pinch of salt, then let sit for 30 minutes to mellow the sharpness. Strain and reserve the vinegar.
Prep the Tomatoes: Cut the large tomatoes into rough chunks and set aside. Keep the cherry tomatoes whole or halved, depending on size.
Prepare the Basil: Tear the basil leaves from the stems, keeping the leaves whole for maximum aroma.
Assemble the Salad: In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, softened red onions, grated garlic and toasted croutons.
Dress Generously: Add plenty of extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and pour in the reserved onion vinegar to taste.
Toss & Serve: Toss everything well until evenly coated. Serve immediately while the croutons still have some crunch.