It’s been close to 100° all week, so I’ve been leaning on no-cook dinners. Earlier this week I went to the farmers market and picked up watermelon and feta for a salad - served that with deviled eggs and sourdough bread.
I bought 2 small sourdough boules and the second one got stale pretty quickly…I had some tomatoes and leftover feta, so I thought…panzanella for the next meal!
While looking at recipes online, I saw comments lambasting certain recipes for not being “traditional” (apparently bread, tomatoes and oil/vinegar is supposed to be it). And there are Opinions about how you deal with the bread (oven-dried vs just left out to be stale vs water-moistened…).
Well y’all…panzanella is what peasants made to use up stale bread and whatever other bits needed eating. I don’t think our Tuscan ancestors will be angered if we improvise a bit.
This is merely a guideline with no set quantities and whatever else you want to throw in…you do you! I added some chickpeas that were sautéed til crispy to make this more substantial. I also followed the Serious Eats technique to salt the tomatoes and let them drain over a bowl to save the juice, which is added to the dressing (I just mixed the dressing in the same bowl). I don’t think you have to do this, but it doesn’t add more time if you’re waiting for the bread to toast.
So, use what you’ve got on hand and make a bread salad with some or all of these things, or more!
The bread:
- crusty bread, preferably day-old, cubed into bite sized pieces
- Olive oil
Fresh ripe tomatoes, wedged/halved
Other veggies: cucumber, peppers, corn
Onion: sliced raw red onion or green onion would be good. I used some thinly sliced yellow onion briefly sautéed with the chickpeas.
Optional: 1 can chickpeas, rinsed, drained & dried
Cheese: fresh mozzarella or feta
Fresh basil
Dressing: olive oil, vinegar (I used balsamic but I think red/white wine is more traditional), dab of Dijon mustard
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Drizzle the bread with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt & pepper, garlic powder if you like. Spread on a sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes - I did 300 in a convection toaster oven, probably 350 in a regular oven. Cubes should be just starting to brown.
Meanwhile, put the cut tomatoes in a colander set over a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and leave for about 15 minutes to drain.
Slice up the rest of your veggies.
Sauté chickpeas in olive oil until browned & crispy. If using yellow onion, add when chickpeas are almost done and cook briefly. Season with salt, pepper and anything else you like (garlic powder, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika). Let cool slightly.
Mix dressing in bowl with tomato “drippings.” Whisk a dab of Dijon mustard and a couple tbl each vinegar & oil. Season with salt & pepper.
Toss tomatoes & vegetables in dressing, then add bread, chickpeas & cheese. Let sit for 15-30 mins. If it seems dry, drizzle in more olive oil. Add fresh basil (torn or shredded) before serving.
