Panzanella is hands down my favorite salad. Hailing from Tuscany and surrounding regions of Italy, panzanella is a bread salad which always combines bread with tomatoes, and sometimes other fresh flavors from the garden. I especially like it in the waning days of summer because the crusty bread adds a fresh, heartiness to this salad.
Here at Montegatta, we are generally harvesting tomatoes through November. I love having some fresh tomatoes at my Thanksgiving table if the weather cooperates. But this salad is not just for special occasions – I love it for a healthy lunch by itself, or as a side dish for a weekday dinner.
Panzanella is is a bread salad with tomatoes for flavor, and not the other way around! It is a perfect dish for gardeners, because it is best with very fresh vegetables from the garden, and it uses up whatever produce you have on hand. It is an essential dish for anyone with access to excellent tomatoes.
This dish is usually seen on late summer menus here in the states with just bread and tomatoes. However it can and is often made across the Mediterranean with any number of vegetables, including peppers, cucumbers, and onions. I generally like to add cucumbers if I have some from the garden because I love the way they compliment this dish. Fresh basil or parsley also make excellent additions.
And I always toast my bread into croutons, because I prefer the way the croutons hold up to the tomatoes without getting soggy. The best croutons are made from fresh or day-old bread, rather than very stale bread. More on that in a bit.
Tips Before you get Started:
Drain the tomatoes. After you cut up your tomatoes into cubes, or chunks, you’ll definitely want to drain them in a strainer for about 20 minutes so that your salad isn’t sitting in a bathtub. Salting the tomatoes first will draw out the liquid faster.
I always toast the bread for panzanella, whether it is soft or day -old. I love the flavor and the crunchiness of the toasted bread, which stands up well to the tomatoes and never gets too soggy. Some recipes call for soaking the bread in water first, but I find this makes the bread too soggy in the salad. Even if you toast the bread after soaking, the cubes become leathery.
Therefore I recommend tossing bread cubes in a little olive oil, placing them on a sheet pan and putting them under the broiler for about 5 minutes until they are golden brown. You may wish to turn them so that all sides reach that golden brown color.
Lastly, I like this salad with just a drizzle of olive oil for flavor. Frankly though, that’s how I like most of my salads, with simple olive oil as a stand-in for the dressing. I think that allows the flavor of the fresh, heirloom tomatoes to stand out. But if you prefer a more robust dressing, I suggest adding some balsamic, minced garlic, and chopped parsley to the olive oil and whisking for a minute prior to covering the salad.
Ingredients
The Must – Haves
- 3-5 large Tomatoes – it’s nice to use several different varieties and colors.
- Crusty Italian bread, such as Ciabatta. Either fresh or day-old bread will work.
- 1 Cucumber
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
Optional Ingredients
- Basil
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Minced garlic
- Onion
- Sweet Pepper
Instructions for Panzanella Salad
- Slice and drain the tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes into bite size chunks. Cover with salt and put them into a strainer for about 20 minutes.
- Toast the croutons. While you are waiting the tomatoes to drain, turn on your oven to broil. Slice a good Italian bread loaf into cubes and arrange them on a sheet pan. Drizzle with some good olive oil and toss. You may add some salt and garlic if you like. Put them under the pre-heated broiler. This process can go very quickly, so keep a watchful eye on the croutons after 5 minutes. When the tops are golden brown, flip the croutons once and broil for another minute or so. Remove from the oven. Set this aside.
- Chop the cucumber and any other vegetables you will be adding to the salad.
- Add the croutons, tomatoes and vegetables to a beautiful bowl and mix well.
- Drizzle with good quality olive oil and season with salt.
- If making a vinaigrette; swirl some balsamic, olive oil, minced garlic and chopped parsley together in a ramekin. Whisk for a minute and drizzle over the salad. Mix everything together well.
- Let the salad rest for 20 minutes prior to serving. This allows the dressing to soak in.
