Panzanella is a dinner-sized salad – practically a meal in itself, with crusty bread, cheese, veggies, and olives, it makes a delightful dinner on a hot summer night!This Mediterranean salad usually consists of crusty Tuscan bread and tomatoes in addition to fresh garden vegetables. Veggies can include bell peppers of any color, cucumbers, and onions. Garlic, capers, black olives, and anchovies are added to the salad for extra punch. Use good quality olive oil and white or red wine vinegar. Panzanella originated in Italy was a good way for Italian cooks to make a meal out of stale bread and homegrown vegetables. This Mediterranean salad is another example of the green, white, and red colors of the Italian flag, which are frequently represented in Italian cuisine. The written records of Panzanella go back centuries. In the 1500s, a poem by the famous artist Bronzino described the salad. At that time, the tomato was quite a few years from being introduced into the Italian kitchen, so the ingredients were limited to cucumber, onion, basil, arugula, and bread. Just like yesteryear, practically every modern family has some amount of stale bread lying around the house, but we like to use fresh Ciabatta, slightly toasted to give the salad the freshest taste possible. We also have added feta cheese – a flavor that maintains the Mediterranean flair but adds a little more substance to the meal.
Servings 6as a side dish
Ingredients
Salad Fixin’s:
6one-inchCiabatta or crusty Italian breadcut into one-inch cubes
1head lettuce(romaine, or baby leaf lettuces)
½bunch basilred leafy basil is especially pretty in this salad, but traditional green works
3largetomatoes ( Use only the freshest - ripest tomatoes for this salad! )any combination of red, orange and yellow
1red bell pepper
½cucumberpeeled and sliced into ½-inch thick slices, then quartered
1/2cupfeta cheesecrumbled
1/2cupantipasto olivesKalamata or spiced Italian olives, drained
1tablespooncapersdrained
Dressing - Mix well and store in a jar until ready to use.
⅓cupextra virgin olive oil
5Tablespoonsred wine vinegar
1clovegarlicminced (use more if you love garlic)
1/4teaspoonanchovy paste
1/2teaspoonKosher or sea salt
1/2teaspoonfreshly ground peppermore if you like
1tablespoonjuice from tomatoes used in salad
Instructions
To Assemble Salad:
Place bread squares in the toaster oven at low temperature for about 30 minutes, or until crusty. Remove and cool to room temperature.
Place bread in the bottom of a large salad bowl and layer the rest of the ingredients on top, beginning with lettuce, followed by cucumber, bell pepper, basil, feta, olives, and capers.
Pour dressing over top and let drain down to the bread. Gently toss and serve.
Notes
Can simply use stale bread, cut into cubes with or without first toasting.