Panzanella Salad
Panzanella was originally conceived as cucina povera, or poverty food. It was a peasant way of eating, meant to stretch pantries as far as they would go. With panzanella, the idea was to make the most of bread that had gone stale, by softening it up in oil and vinegar and serving it with juicy vegetables just pulled from the garden. It is simple, and filling, and economical.
Thankfully it's also beautiful and delicious. This harmonious meal synthesizes whatever kind of bread you need to use; in this recipe, we used tangy sourdough, but you can use it to finish off a baguette, toasted cornbread, or polenta. Ideally the bread should be a bit stale but if it isn't, just toast until it is dry and crusty. Choose summer vegetables bursting with flavor and you've got yourself a salad. You can even add some grilled chicken or tofu and enjoy it as a simple summer dinner.
For the salad:
- 1/2 loaf of sourdough bread, or more to taste, cut into large cubes
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Tuscany Bread Dipping Seasoning or Mild Tuscany Bread Dipping Seasoning
- 2 pounds of ripe tomatoes, cut into large cubes or small wedges
- Kosher Salt as needed for salting tomatoes
- 1 medium cucumber, sliced
- 1/4 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, whole and unchopped
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, roughly torn
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, sliced with a vegetable peeler to make ribbons
For the dressing:
- 2 teaspoons Tuscany Bread Dipping Seasoning or Mild Tuscany Bread Dipping Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Put bread cubes in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil to lightly coat. Toss with 2 teaspoons Tuscany Bread Dipping Seasoning. Spread bread onto a baking pan and put in the oven. Toast for 15 minutes, turning once, until bread is golden on both sides. Remove from heat.
- While bread toasts, put cubed tomatoes in a colander and place it over the large bowl you just used for bread. Toss with Kosher Salt and let tomatoes drain over the bowl, at least 10 minutes.
- Once tomatoes have drained, pour juices into a small bowl. To the tomato juices add vinegar, mustard, honey, remaining two teaspoons Tuscany Bread Dipping Seasoning, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt. Whisk together until fully incorporated. Then start to pour in olive oil, whisking all the while, until dressing has emulsified. Taste and add more seasoning or salt if necessary.
- Let the mixture sit about 5 minutes to allow the dry spices to reconstitute.
- In a large serving dish, add toasted bread cubes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, fresh basil, and mozzarella cheese.
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine.
- Garnish with additional fresh basil leaves, Parmesan curls, and extra bread cubes, if available.
