La Bella Ro

Panzanella

  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Prep time: 15 min
  • Cook time: 50 min
  • Serving: 6 persone
  • Cost: Low

Ingredients

  • Tuscan bread 12 oz (350 g) - stale
  • Cucumbers 0.5 lb (200 g)
  • Basil to taste
  • White wine vinegar 2 tbsp (60 g)
  • Fine salt to taste
  • Cluster tomatoes 1 cup (220 g) - ripe
  • Red onions 3.2 oz (90 g)
  • Water 1.1 cups (250 g) - (variable depending on how much the bread needs to be moistened)
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • Black pepper to taste

Preparation

Panzanella is one of the featuring formulas on the table in Summer, a pride of Tuscan food! A recuperation formula: stale bread and cultivate vegetables for a brilliantly basic and appetizing dish. Like its “cousin” from Puglia, the acquasale, panzanella may be a cold dish, no cooking required. The stale Tuscan bread is doused in water and white wine vinegar, which gives panzanella an seriously and characteristic flavor. Tomatoes and ruddy onions are a must, to which cucumbers or celery can be included depending on the region and what is accessible. There are numerous existing varieties of panzanella, and everybody is free to customize it to their enjoying… tell us how you delighted in it!

Also discover these delicious reinterpretations:

  • winter panzanella
  • panzanella-stuffed tomatoes
  • salmon tartare and panzanella
  • sweet panzanella
To make panzanella, first cut the bread into slices
  1. and then into coarse cubes
  2. Transfer the bread to a bowl and add water and vinegar
  3. Mix well so that the bread can evenly absorb the soak and set aside
  4. Proceed with preparing the vegetables: cut the tomatoes first into quarters
  5. and then into smaller pieces
  6. Remove the peel from the cucumber, trim the ends and cut it in half lengthwise
  7. then slice it thinly
  8. Finally, peel the onion, cut it in half and slice it thinly
  9. Go back to the bowl with the bread and mix again, then add the onions
  10. and cucumbers
  11. Also add the tomatoes
  12. and mix everything together
  13.  then tear the basil leaves with your hands
  14. Season with salt
  15. pepper, and oil
  16. Mix again and keep your panzanella in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve it

Storage

Panzanella can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, in an airtight container. However, it’s best to add the tomatoes at the time of serving to prevent them from souring.

Tips

Panzanella is traditionally made with Tuscan bread, but any type of stale bread will do: the important thing is that it’s a bit stale.

The amount of water depends on how dry the bread used is, so you can increase or decrease it to achieve the right consistency; however, the amount of vinegar should not be changed.

If you prefer to soften the flavor of raw onion, you can soak it in water and salt for an hour and a half, changing the brine every 30 minutes: this will also make it more digestible.

Many variants use celery instead of cucumber; alternatively, try replacing it with raw zucchini cut very thinly!

You can replace the heirloom tomatoes with cherry tomatoes or use red wine vinegar instead of white.

Instead of pepper, you can opt for chili pepper or Tabasco!

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