30 minutes
4 Servings
Easy
Italian traditional salad “Panzanella”
Panzanella is a traditional bread, tomatoes and onion salad from Tuscany. Its spread throughout Italy gave to this salad an outstanding versatility, thanks to the freshness and the compatibility of its basic ingredients with the additional ones. We want to show you a fresh and super-easy-to-prepare delicious variant.
Ingredients
300 gr (0.6 lb) cherry tomatoes
400 gr (0.9 lb) rustic bread
80 gr (2.8 oz) pitted sweet (not in vinegar) black olives
50 gr (1.7 oz) celery
50 gr (1.7 oz) carrot
80 gr (2.8 oz) red onion
Fresh basil (4 leaves)
Fresh oregano (4 leaves)
Raspberry vinegar (or apple vinegar)
1 caper
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt – Mediterranean sea salt
Black pepper
Water
Mise en place:
Cut tomatoes in 4 parts.
Cut bread in cubes (0.7 X 0.7 inches)
Coarsely chopped celery, carrot and onions
Directions
Coat the bottom of a sauté pan with olive oil, heat the oil on medium heat then add the rustic bread cubes. Let the bread sauté for a few minutes until it becomes golden brown, then turn off the heat and put the bread cubes into a large bowl to cool down a bit.
Splash now the bread cubes with apple vinegar and water then mix it with hands. Let the bread absorb moisture and flavors, then add the rest of other ingredients: tomatoes, olives, celery, carrot, onion, fresh chopped basil and oregano. Adjust with salt and pepper and add generous extra virgin olive oil. Mix the ingredients with your hands, squeezing them a bit to evenly distribute juices.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then place in the refrigerator to rest at least for an hour (best if overnight).
Before serving, remove the plastic wrap, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and stir evenly to let flavors expand. Garnish the top with one caper.
This dish pairs perfectly with Soave Classico or Verdicchio white wine.