Panzanella Salad
it'll be your new go-to summer salad
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Panzanella may just be the perfect salad. It doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, I would say it’s a top-tier salad, up there with a Caesar. And you know I love a Caesar Salad. It’s packed with the most delicious seasonal ingredients and is super refreshing—exactly what I want to eat in the summer. While you can certainly enjoy it year-round, the classic version with cucumbers and tomatoes shines best with in-season produce. Nonetheless, I’m open to creating variations for every season. Maybe I’ll expand this into a seasonal Panzanella series. Panzanella year-round!
This salad has become a staple in our home, especially since we often have an abundance of extra bread. From neighbors dropping off baguettes and Greek holiday loaves, to our regular bread purchases, we always have more than we can eat fresh. So for any extra bread we have, into the freezer it goes, and while some gets made into croutons, breadcrumbs, or used for various whipped ricotta toasts or sardine toasts, one of the best (and most delicious) ways to use it up is in a Panzanella salad. So, if you have any stale or day-old bread, I highly encourage you to try this. I promise you’ll be making Panzanella salads all summer long.
Ok, now onto the recipe…
Ingredients
For The Dressing
2 anchovies
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp capers drained and/or rinsed
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
For The Salad
3 Persian cucumbers or 1/2 large seedless cucumber, diced
1 c cherry tomatoes - halved and quartered, or 1 large tomato diced
1/4 onion finely sliced, *optional
4 slices bread
1 handful basil leaves
Instructions
To make dressing, finely chop anchovies until they become a paste. Add to a bowl with finely minced garlic, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste for seasoning.
Pre-heat oven to 300°F. Tear bread into bite sized chunks, drizzle with olive oil and toast bread in oven for approximately 10 minutes or until bread is toasted but hasn’t taken on any color.
Get your tomatoes and cucumber diced. Slice onion. (The onion is optional, I didn’t any here, but occasionally I do.)
To make salad, combine toasted bread, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions (if using) in a large bowl. Add in your dressing and toss well. Let salad sit for at least 10 minutes, 20 would be better. You want the cucumbers and tomatoes to release their juices and soften and season the bread. Toss again and check for seasoning. Add in you basil and serve.
Coming Next:
Calabrian Chili Wings
sweet, spicy and a lil funky
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