Italian · Salad · Easy
Panzanella
Crusty bread, sun-warm tomatoes, and basil tossed in a bright vinaigrette and left to soak it all up. The Tuscan salad that proves stale bread is an ingredient, not a failure.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Panzanella, in 5 ideas
- Use day-old bread with a real crust, soft fresh bread turns to mush.
- Let the dressed salad rest 20 to 30 minutes, the bread should soak up the dressing.
- Salt the tomatoes first and let them release their juice, that juice becomes part of the dressing.
- Keep the pieces chunky, rustic is the whole point of panzanella.
- Tear the basil by hand at the end so it stays fragrant and unbruised.
What you need
Ingredients
- 300g day-old crusty Italian bread, torn into 2.5cm chunks
- 700g ripe mixed tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 0.5 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
- 80ml extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 0.5 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 20g fresh basil leaves, torn
How to make it
Directions
- Toss the bread chunks with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toast in a 190C oven for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly golden. Cool slightly.
- Place the tomatoes in a large bowl with the salt and let stand for 10 minutes until they release their juices.
- Whisk the remaining olive oil, vinegar, and garlic into the tomato juices.
- Add the toasted bread, red onion, and cucumber to the bowl and toss well to coat.
- Rest the salad at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until the bread has absorbed the dressing.
- Scatter over the basil, season with black pepper, and serve.
Panzanella was invented to use up stale bread, so it is the ultimate save-money salad. Ask your bakery for yesterday's loaves at a discount, they are actually better for this recipe.