Let's Eat: Panzanella Salad
The humble salad that packs a big punch with just a handful of ingredients.
I’m not sure when I had panzanella salad for the first time, but I feel like it’s a food memory I should have retained. I even feel like I have a memory buried somewhere about it, but it’s just out of my grasp. I find that my memory about important things is starting to become a little murky lately. I racked my brain, and even meditated a bit to see if I could get back to the time and place, but it was not to be had.
I don’t normally like raw tomatoes, or maybe I should say that I am very selective as to when I will eat raw tomatoes. Normally they have to be in small quantity and chopped in small pieces. Salsa is a good example of how I like tomatoes. Especially if it’s a homemade salsa and I am eating it with chips by a pool somewhere warm. I will indulge in a Caprese salad if the tomato is in season and looks red and plump and yummy.
So, the idea of a salad whose main ingredients is raw tomatoes is not normally something I would like (just like eggs!), which makes it even more annoying that I can’t remember the first time I had it. I feel like that is going to bug me for a while.
Anyway, this weekend is my family’s annual Ravioli Day, which is normally the first Saturday in November. My Italian side of the family gets together to make homemade raviolis that we have on Thanksgiving. I normally made a bruschetta for Ravioli Day that usually goes over pretty well and is expected to appear. So, knowing that RD was coming up soon, I knew I had to make sure I added the bruschetta ingredients to my Shoprite list. That’s when my thoughts started floating towards panzanella.
Panzanella, which in Italian is a combination of the words bread and soup bowl/deep plate/tureen, depending on which website you read. It’s a traditional Tuscan dish which can be found in many parts of Italy, and a popular summer salad and is considered to be a “bread salad”. Similarly to other Mediterranean bread salads like fattoush and dakos, it centers around using stale or dried chunks of bread rehydrated in a yummy dressing as a main ingredient, accompanied by tomatoes and other herbs and vegetables.
There are many ways to customize this recipe, and I’ve included ideas for other options in the ingredients list. You can make it what you want as you build it around the tomatoes and the bread.
Another good way to customize this recipe, or play around with different versions, is to try different vinegars. I think balsamics are the best for this salad, but red wine vinegars is often used. In particular, my favorite vinegar for this salad is a Serrano Honey blend that I buy at my local olive oil and vinegar boutique, Blue Moon.
Another fun way to mix this up is to use a variety of tomatoes. Even though tomatoes are officially out of season in New Jersey, I am lucky enough to have access to a handful of farm markets that stay open into the fall. For my salad, I picked up two heirlooms, one yellow and one red, and a container of ripe grape tomatoes.
The whole thing is pretty easy to prepare, and only takes a handful of minutes to chop, tear, and toss. It’s pretty easy to have this salad come out pretty good, especially if you take the extra step of letting the tomatoes drain some of their nature juice. The tomatoes will naturally drain some of their water off, especially when salted and you can run the risk of the salad becoming a little watery. Still delicious, but the dressing will loosen up a bit.
A note about the bread. Yes, there are croutons. So, how is this bread different from croutons? The answer is the texture and the size. Because croutons are normally baked, they start off crunchy. Using stale or lightly toasted chunks of bread retains the chewy structure of the bread and when it soaks up the dressing, it manages to retain some of the yummy, chewy texture as opposed to crouton maybe getting soggy. Trust me, I’m half Italian!
So, next time you are looking for a great side or salad to bring to an event, or are craving something light that doesn’t involve lettuce, give panzanella a chance. I hear it goes great with raviolis.
Ingredients:
1 -2 pounds of ripe tomatoes of your choice
2-3 cups of rustic, sourdough, or ciabatta bread, torn or cut into cubes, stale or lightly toasted
1 small shallot
1 medium cucumber
1 clove garlic
1 small red onion
Balsamic vinegar of choice
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Optionals: fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, red or yellow pepper, capers, olives, Dijon mustard for the dressing
Steps:
Cut the tomatoes in chunks (a little larger than a salsa chop), lightly salt them, and let them sit for 15-20 minutes.
While the tomatoes sit, chop the shallot and garlic, thinly slice the onion, and cut the cucumber into small chunks (peeled or unpeeled per your preference). If you are using other vegetables, you can cut them now.
After 15 minutes, drain the juice that has extracted from the tomatoes.
Combine all the veggies with the tomatoes and toss.
Dress with the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and toss again,
Add the bread chunks, toss for a final time, and serve.
This salad also gets more delicious if you let it sit for a bit. You can make it ahead of time, store in the fridge, holding off on adding the bread until you are ready to serve.
Enjoy! 🍅
© 2023 Kim Selby. All rights reserved.
All photography © Kim Selby unless otherwise credited.