Panzanella

Bread soaked and squeezed dry, dressed with the juice the tomatoes give up.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 400 g stale unsalted country bread, crusts on
• 800 g very ripe tomatoes
• 1 red onion, sliced paper-thin
• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
• a large handful of basil
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1.5 teaspoons flaky salt

Method

1. CHOP THE TOMATOES, SALT THEM, AND LEAVE THEM IN A SIEVE OVER A BOWL FOR 30 MINUTES. The juice that runs out is the dressing — this is why the dish needs properly ripe tomatoes and cannot be made with hard ones.
2. Soak the bread in cold water for 10 minutes, then SQUEEZE IT HARD in your hands, a handful at a time, until it is barely damp, and crumble it into a bowl.
3. Soaked and not squeezed, it turns to paste and the salad is wallpaper. Not soaked at all, it stays a crouton and never takes up the juice.
4. Soak the sliced onion in cold water 10 minutes and dry it.
5. Toss the squeezed bread with the tomato juice first and let it sit 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, oil, vinegar and salt.
6. THERE IS NO LETTUCE IN THIS and it is not a leaf salad with croutons. The bread is the substance.
7. Rest it 30 minutes at room temperature, never in the fridge, and tear the basil in at the table.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes