A panzanella salad is a classic Italian bread salad made to celebrate ripe tomatoes and day-old bread. It usually features chunks of toasted or stale bread tossed with juicy tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and fresh basil, all dressed in olive oil and vinegar. I just love how the bread soaks up the dressing and tomato juices, becoming tender but still chewy, while the vegetables stay fresh and vibrant. This salad is simple, rustic and is perfect for our hot Aussie summers when tomatoes are at their best.
WINE PAIRING: Enjoy this salad with Scarborough Wine Co's Offshoot Verdelho. It has a generous tropical fruit palate and a zesty grapefruit finish that complements the sweetness of the tomato and basil in this salad.
4
servings10
minutes30
minutesEnjoy this summery salad with Scarborough Wine Co’s Offshoot Verdelho.
Stop your screen from snoozing (zzz)
Ingredients
1 slice 1 slice day-old sourdough (the best you can buy!)
600 g 1 1/3 lb mixed ripe tomatoes (we used red and yellow cherry tomatoes)
1 1 red onion, finely sliced
30 g 1 oz capers, rinsed
300 g 2/3 lb flame-roasted pimentos, cut into strips
12 12 white anchovy fillets
1 bunch 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 bunch 1 bunch basil, leaves picked
120 ml 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbs 1 1/2 tbsp (30ml) red wine vinegar
Method
- Preheat oven to 140°C fan-forced. Tear bread into bite-sized pieces. Arrange on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or until nicely crisp and golden.
- Meanwhile, halve cherry tomatoes and roughly chop any large tomatoes. Place in a serving bowl with red onion, capers, pimentos, anchovy fillets, parsley and basil. Add the toasted bread and gently toss to combine.
- Combine oil and vinegar in a jug. Drizzle over salad, season and serve immediately.
Notes
- Tomatoes are the key ingredient in this recipe and will be at their most flavoursome when in season. We used cherry tomatoes, but you could use any ripe tomatoes you like in this recipe.
- Though this salad is at its most delightful served immediately after making, you can prep this salad up to 1 day ahead. Place the toasted bread in an airtight container and keep in the pantry. Store remaining salad ingredients and the dressing in two separate airtight containers. Keep salad ingredients in the fridge and the dressing in the pantry. Assemble the salad right before serving.
- To make this salad vegetarian, simply leave out the anchovy fillets.
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