Panzanella or the tuscan bread salad is a classic summer dish developed in central Italy as a way to use up day old bread and left over vegetables. It combines lightly grilled baguettes with largely chopped vegetables dressed in oil and vinegar. It is summery and simple and just like banana bread makes you excited to see overly ripe bananas on your countertop, panzanella really takes the sting out of bread getting stale.
Panzanella can be the main dish or a side accompanying a nice piece of roasted chicken or pasta. It is also even better the next day. As it sits overnight, the baguette soaks up the dressing and becomes quite heavenly, so I highly recommend making enough for today and tomorrow…
Now although the vegetables bring all of the nutrients and vibrant colors to this dish, the bread is the real star of the show. Italian bread, a baguette or some ciabatta works perfectly for this dish and once you have your bread picked out, gather some vine ripened tomatoes, cucumber, red onions and fresh basil and let’s get started…
This recipe is really easy to bring together and can be made for a single serving or a large crowd. I like to estimate about 4 inches of bread, 1 large tomato and 1/2 cup of chopped cucumber per person, but these are loose guidelines and since this salad chills well, leftovers are a good thing.
Begin by tearing your bread into bite sized pieces, spread them over a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Generously season the bread with garlic salt, black pepper and dried basil.
Bake the croutons in a 375 degree oven for 8-12 minutes or until they are nice and crisp.
Chop 3 vine ripened tomatoes, 1 small english cucumber and about 1/2 cup of a red onion into bite sized pieces. If you are not a fan of raw red onions, consider quick pickling them to tone down the harshness and bring out a little more of their natural sweetness.
Combine all of the chopped vegetables into a large mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of capers and some thinly sliced fresh basil.
Add the crisp bread and give everything a generous drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add a big pinch os sea salt, black pepper and dried basil and then toss everything until all of the bread has been coated in some oil and vinegar.
Full disclosure, I am enjoying a bowl of panzanella right now and the way that the baguette soaks up the balsamic vinegar is special. This salad gets even better with time, so if you have any left over, cover and refrigerate. Don’t worry about the baguette getting soggy, because it will not. It just soaks up even more of the flavors and will soften the perfect amount.
I can’t say enough about how refreshing and flavorful this salad is and if you are a bread lover, this will most likely become your new favorite summer side dish. Enjoy!
Panzanella
Ingredients
- 12 inch loaf of Italian bread or ciabatta
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon of dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 3 large vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small english cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 cup of red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons of capers, drained
- 8-10 leaves of fresh basil, thinly sliced
- extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375
- Tear the bread into bite sized pieces and transfer onto a baking sheet
- Drizzle with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and toss to combine
- Season with garlic salt, dried basil and black pepper and toss until evenly distributed
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-12 minutes or until as crisp as you prefer
- Large chop all of the vegetables and place them into a large mixing bowl
- Add the capers, fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper and toss to combine
- Add the browned baguette cubes and mix until all of the ingredients are fully combined
- Enjoy!
