Panzanella is a classic salad from Tuscany that’s made with the freshest, ripest tomatoes, aromatic basil leaves, lightly pickled onions and crunchy croutons. It’s useful for finishing up that half-eaten loaf that’s gone stale in the bread bin, turning it into croutons that will soak up all the delicious tomato and vinegar juices in the salad bowl. The flavours go brilliantly with our Italian-Style Grains.
Panzanella with Italian-Style Grains
serves
Serves 2
time
10 mins
level
Beginner
Panzanella is a classic salad from Tuscany that’s made with the freshest, ripest tomatoes, aromatic basil leaves, lightly pickled onions and crunchy croutons. It’s useful for finishing up that half-eaten loaf that’s gone stale in the bread bin, turning it into croutons that will soak up all the delicious tomato and vinegar juices in the salad bowl. The flavours go brilliantly with our Italian-Style Grains.
400g tomatoes (use different colours and varieties, if possible)
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 red onion
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
30g stale bread
15g fresh basil leaves
Méthode
Cut the tomatoes into chunks of different shapes and sizes and place in a large bowl. Spoon over 4 tablespoons of the olive oil so the tomatoes are well coated.
Peel and thinly slice the onion. Separate the layers and spread them out in a small dish. Spoon over the vinegar, ½ teaspoon of the salt and the sugar.
Cut the bread into roughly 2.5cm chunks.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chunks of bread until they are golden and crisp. Sprinkle with the remaining salt.
Mix the onion and vinegar with the tomatoes and croutons. Mix the Italian-Style Grains with the basil leaves, reserving a few leaves to garnish the salad.
Combine the tomato and grain mixture and transfer to a serving dish. Add a good drizzle of olive oil and garnish with the reserved basil leaves.
Good to know!
Use a variety of colours and types of tomato so the salad looks its most striking.