Panzanella




The people of Italy are notorious for being frugal. These days you are likely to find  Panzanella, or bread salad, in a trendy bistro or trattoria. But the history of the dish originates in simple country cuisine.

Panzanella is a Tuscan recipe that was designed as a way to put day old bread to use. But, don't think that you are settling on anything. It is a fortuitous fact that stale bread will absorb the dressing and the juice from your fresh tomatoes while retaining a firm consistency. Fresh bread would become a soggy mess.
This is a summer salad, best when you can obtain cucumbers, peppers, and especially tomatoes at their peak.

Serves about 12.

Ingredients

1/4 cup capers. I prefer capers packed in salt as opposed to those in a brine. Soak them to remove some of the salt, and drain well
2 loaves  ciabatta , Tuscan, or other country-style white bread, 1-2 days old
9 ripe tomatoes (about 2 1/4 pounds total), cored and coarsely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 large red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
2 large cucumbers, cut in half, seeded and then sliced ½ inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

For the vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes.  You should have about 5-6 cups of cubes. It’s OK if you do this ahead of time and leave the bread out on you counter. Remember, the dish is designed to showcase older bread.

Heat some oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Do in batches to avoid overloading the skillet. Add more oil as needed. Set aside. If you aren’t going to use the bread immediately, allow it to cool completely before putting into a plastic bag.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. 

Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Allow the salad to sit for about an hour for the flavors to blend before serving.

This is a pretty traditional Florentine version. Some people add hard boiled eggs or pieces of tuna to make a meal salad out of the dish.

Last edited by Goose (7/30/2016 2:11 pm)