Panzanella

Traditional Panzanella Salad is a simple celebration of the best tomatoes, basil and olive oil you can bring to the table. Classic ingredients enthusiastically come together to make a sensational salad. My kind of summer eating.

Traditional panzanella salad is born of an Italian thrifty desire to use up stale bread. It is historically a peasant dish and at it's heart is a firm, rustic loaf able to stand up to soaking and turning in the gutsy tomato dressing. To this end it needs to be on the stale side. I always buy a good freshly baked supermarket ciabatta. The pre packaged ones I find a little rubbery.

Rather disorganised as I am, I have sometimes forgotten to make sure my bread has been left out over night to stale and so have resorted to drying it out in a low oven. That did work well but stale is still best and a whole 24 hours left out is perfect.

The other really important point of note is that the tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil should be the best you can afford. I always buy on the vine and I would go so far as to say if you buy the pale, grainy supermarket cheapest tomatoes then don't bother. The flavour just won't be there.

I do strongly recommend salting the tomatoes to bring out the flavour for half an hour before you get down and dirty with the salad but even with that the cheapest tomatoes just won't cut the mustard. Silk purse, sow's ear and all that. I recommend medium sized, on the vine as good and ripe as you can manage.

Panzanella

This salad is one of my favourites. It is quite simply sensational and it will lift everything around it to the same heady stratosphere.

It is perfect for a BBQ or simple supper, a laid back lunch or part of a buffet table. I even like to serve it with Roast Chicken for a fuss free summer Sunday lunch.

Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a full printable recipe card.

The ingredients are simple but are best well considered. As mentioned before the best tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil you can manage are important.

500 grams ripe tomatoes - on the vine

1 small red onion

25 grams Basil - fresh

half a clove garlic

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

130 mls extra virgin olive oil

250 grams ciabatta - stale so as to not melt into the dressing

2 tsp sea salt

How Do I Make Panzanella?

The first thing I do is trim the crust of the ciabatta. Be careful as it is a bit tricky/fiddly. I cut into cubes of about 2.5 cm and put on a wire tray to keep on drying out.

I buy a big one from the supermarket bakery. It weighs something like 320 grams but with the crusts trimmed away it gives you the 250 grams you need.

I then quarter the tomatoes. I don't peel them to keep things simple but you can if you'd rather. I do slice a little off the tops of the tomatoes before I cut into quarters to remove the woody part.

I then tip the quarters into a sieve which is over a bowl and salt them with 1 tsp of fine sea salt. The bowl beneath then catches all the juices for the dressing later. I call them tomato drippings.

Set those aside and then slice up your onion very thinly. About 1 mm thickness.

I put them in my serving bowl with the minced garlic (no more than ½ a medium sized clove) and pour in the vinegar. The vinegar will take away the fierceness of the onion.

After the tomatoes have been sitting there for about 20/30 minutes then use your thumb to deseed the tomatoes. Discard the seeds and put the tomatoes either into a food processor or onto a chopping board.

I use my food processor to blitz the tomatoes into a coarse pulp but you can do the same with a knife.

Empty them into the serving bowl on top of the onions and garlic.

I then add another tsp of fine sea salt and a ¼ tsp of sugar. The sugar is required so don't skip it. It is only a very small amount but the tomatoes do need it. It adds a real depth to them and the basil too.

Next throw in the ciabatta and chopped basil. I know it's fashionable to tear but I would rather get a ribbon of basil than ½ a leaf.

Although remember to check your teeth later.

Pour over the extra virgin olive oil and 120 mls of tomato drippings and carefully mix and turn it all over. I tend to use my clean hands to do this but if you have cuts then wear a pair of disposable gloves or use some utensils as the acid in the salad will sting.

Turn it all over as much as you need to do in order to get the bread well covered in everything.

What to Serve with Panzanella

• I like to serve it with Roast Chicken and some green beans. It really, really rocks.
• Any BBQ meat goes well with it really although the salad is gutsy and full of flavour so anything heavily spiced or herbed might clash. So sausages are perfect as are pork chops, steaks and chicken.
• I do serve it midweek in the summer and pair it with sausages or chicken breasts baked simply in the oven. Again I would pair it with a green vegetable. Tender stem broccoli and green beans are perfect baby.
• For a vegetarian meal you could just eat it with some good cheese of your choice. Mozzarella would be perfect.

Expert Tips

• The best tomatoes you can manage. It really makes a huge difference. I find medium sized is best too as they are easier to deseed. Don't keep them in the fridge either!
• The best extra virgin olive oil you can manage. The good stuff adds an incredible flavour and make sure it isn't just olive oil, it needs to be extra virgin olive oil.
• Slice the onions thinly.
• Be careful with the garlic as too much can overpower the dish. No more than ½ a medium sized clove.
• Wear disposable gloves if you are mixing by hand as the dressing can sting.

Equipment Required

• Sharp Knife
• Sieve
• Food Processor or chopping board
• Digital Scales
• Large, shallow serving dish
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring jug
• Wire rack

Here are some more fabulous salads-

Coronation Chicken Salad

Easy Thai Salad

Salmon Pasta Salad

Moroccan Roast Vegetable Salad

Chicken Caesar Salad

Potato Salad

Watermelon and Feta Salad

 

I have linked this Panzanella with Cook, Blog, Share over at Easy Peasy Foodie

Do let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love a good old hairy chinwag.