Panzanella

Name: Panzanella
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Toscana
Ingredients: 300 g pane toscano (stale unsalted tuscan bread); 500 g Ripe tomatoes; 100 g Red onion; 200 g Cucumber; 20 g fresh basil leaves; 60 ml Extra virgin olive oil; 30 ml Red wine vinegar; 1 tsp Fine sea salt; 0.5 tsp Black pepper

Panzanella is a classic Tuscan summer salad made with soaked stale bread, ripe tomatoes, crisp red onion, cucumber, and fragrant fresh basil.

🇮🇹Italy· Tuscany

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 0 min
Total: 25 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 320 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 9 gathered

Servings

300 g pane toscano (stale unsalted tuscan bread) — several days old, dense crumb
500 g Ripe tomatoes — cut into bite-sized wedges
100 g Red onion — peeled and sliced into thin half-moons
200 g Cucumber — peeled and sliced
20 g fresh basil leaves — washed and roughly torn
60 ml Extra virgin olive oil — fruity Tuscan olive oil
30 ml Red wine vinegar — good quality
1 tsp Fine sea salt — adjust to taste
½ tsp Black pepper — freshly cracked

Equipment

•Large mixing bowl
•Colander
•Sharp chef's knife
•Cutting board

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 320 kcal
fat: 15 g
carbs: 42 g
fibre: 4 g
protein: 6 g
calories: 320 kcal

Instructions

1
Soak the sliced red onion in cold water with a splash of vinegar for twenty minutes to mellow its sharpness.
2
Submerge the stale bread in cold water for two minutes until softened through to the centre.
3
Squeeze the soaked bread firmly in your hands to extract as much excess water as possible.
4
Crumble the squeezed bread into rough bite-sized chunks directly into a large mixing bowl.
5
Drain the soaked red onions thoroughly and add them to the bowl with the bread.
6
Add the chopped tomatoes and sliced cucumber to the bowl.
7
Tear the fresh basil leaves roughly by hand and scatter them over the vegetables.
8
Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar evenly over the ingredients.
9
Season the salad with fine sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
10
Toss the salad gently using your hands or large spoons until thoroughly combined.
11
Refrigerate the salad for at least one hour to allow the dressing and flavours to meld.

Chef's tips

Use rustic, unsalted crusty bread that is genuinely dry, rather than soft sandwich bread which becomes pasty. Let the salad rest for an hour before eating so the bread absorbs the tomato juices and oil.

Ingredient substitutions

pane toscano (stale unsalted Tuscan bread) → stale rustic country sourdough loaf with the crusts trimmed
red wine vinegar → white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Storage

Store leftover panzanella in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one day.

Reheating

Panzanella is a cold raw salad and should never be reheated.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Leaving the bread in water too long, which turns it into mush instead of coarse moist crumbs.
•Failing to squeeze out all excess water from the bread before dressing the salad.
•Serving immediately without resting, which leaves the flavours separate rather than unified.