PANZANELLA ~ NOT JUST ANY SALAD BUT A TUSCAN BREAD SALAD

You never know what you will find at my house to eat.  I hate to waste stuff so I am all the time looking for recipes to use up leftovers.  This is how I came upon this recipe.  I had this old loaf of bread, yeah it was a bit stale, I really had no idea what to do with it.  It was an entire loaf so I really did not want to throw it out to the birds.  I know that would not have been wasteful because the birds would have loved it but dang it was a whole stinking loaf of homemade sourdough bread.  I just had to figure out something to do with it and what did I find?  I found but a Panzanella recipe.  Panzanella is a Tuscan Bread Salad.  Yep, it is Italian but especially from the region of Tuscany.  It was created to use with a crusty old stale loaf of bread.  They too did not like to waste anything.  I really do not understand why my DNA does not have some Italian intertwined within my cells.  I have always loved Italian food.  Well, who am I kidding I love all kinds of foods.  

I made it and let it sit for several hours.  We were having one of my friends over who is an extremely picky eater.  She does not like to have a lot of stuff mixed together and she frankly does not like a lot of vegetables but heck it was made so why not try it out on Scott and my friend.  I have to say it was a huge huge hit.  Boy, was I relieved.  Believe it or not, I am always antsy when I first make something.  I normally do well but no one is perfect and I have had a few failures.

Then last spring I made some because we were having a small cookout and I felt like we needed something more to serve. One of our friends looked at it and said that it is just a bread salad????  He said it with a rather negative attitude.  Let us just say he ate his word and there is no pun intended there at all.  Just a bread salad, well yeah but NO it is not JUST a bread salad.  This stuff is delicious.  Heck, it is beyond delicious if that is possible.   I have served many times now and I never have any left over.  I think that says a lot.  

I have a loaf of bread that I made last week so I thought why not make some Panzanella.  I like to cut my bread into cubes and toast it until the outside edges are crunchy but the center is still soft and moist.   I like mine to sit a while in the fridge to allow the flavors to mingle together for a while.  That is why I like to toast my bread.  Toasting allows the bread to hold up to the vinaigrette you use in the salad.

While the bread is in the oven I chop, slice, dice, and mince the vegetables. 

Since tomatoes are very wet, I squeeze out as much juice as I can and then put them in a strainer over a bowl, which allows more juice to drain.  

Once the bread is nice and crunchy I take it out and allow it to cool for 10 minutes or so.  I do not want to add hot bread to cold ingredients.  

While the bread is cooling I make the vinaigrette.   

Add the vinaigrette to the vegetables.

Toss the bread into the mix.

Shave some Parmigiano-Reggiano on top and you have a wonderful dish.  It is filling enough for a meal.  

  PANZANELLA 

Ingredients for the salad

1 Loaf of stale crusty-style bread
 2 or 3 Tomatoes 
1 large cucumber
1 red onion
1 bell pepper (red or orange for color) Optional
basil
2 to 3 cloves of garlic- minced
1/2 tsp of Dijon mustard
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

To dry the bread
Cube and allow to sit out overnight or cube and brush with olive oil and toast in the oven at 350 for 10 to 20 minutes to allow it to harden outside but still be soft in the middle.  

Slice your tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and bell peppers.
Tear the basil into small pieces.
Combine basil and vegetables in a large bowl.

Make your vinaigrette 
Combine garlic, olive oil, mustard, salt, pepper, and vinegar together.  

To make salad 
Combine your vinaigrette with your vegetables and mix well.  Add bread and combine.  

Allow to sit a few hours in the fridge to marinate the flavors.  Or you can allow sitting on the counter for a few hours.

I really like toasting it due to the fact it really holds up better to the wet ingredients if you toast it versus allowing it to sit overnight.  Most people will tell you to serve it within 2 hours for the best results.  I find if you toast your bread it will still be crunchy the next day.  I actually prefer it the next day but that is my taste.  

You can add other ingredients if you wish.  I love some fresh shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano mix in the salad.  I have also added capers, olives, and even different onions.  

This salad is truly at its peak of flavor when you make it with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers from your garden.  With that said you still can not go wrong making it with store-bought ingredients.  

Just a side note, we are serious when it comes to our cheese.  That chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano was picked up at the strip district in Pittsburgh.  

Happy Thursday 

ENJOY!!