Panzanella

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Panzanella

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Dilip Barman

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Dilip Barman

Description

One of my favorite salads is the Tuscan bread salad or Panzanella. It’s traditionally made with stale bread and chopped ingredients like tomato, cucumber, and onion, along with vinegar – and oil. I used to soak bread pieces in oil before baking and also add oil to the other ingredients. The PCRM Food for Life program teaches the benefits of cooking without oil (oil is pure fat and leaves behind fiber and other nutrients; I’d rather allocate my fat calories to more appealing foods, especially since one can easily cook without it) and I’ve been experimenting with oil-free Panzanella. Even the first experiment was a hit with my family!

  • Ingredients
  • ✓ ¼ pound of bread cut into ¾” cubes; plan in advance to have 2-day old slightly crusty bread if possible. I like to use a seeded whole grain bread. If you can find a 'ciabatta' (slipper, referring to its flat and long shape) bread, it can give good results; I’ve found that a typical small ciabatta, about twice the size of a baguette, is likely to be around 1/2 pound. I have also used a thick Italian country bread like Pane Bello ("pretty bread") or Pane Paisano ("country bread"), which I've found locally to weigh 1 1/2 pounds (Pane Bello) or 1 3/4 pounds (Pane Paisano). If you are gluten-free, there are gluten-free breads available. I’ve not done it but I bet a low-fat cornbread would be good!
  • ✓ 2 batches of vinegar. I don’t like vinegar as much as many so use smaller quantities. For the first batch, I recommend a tablespoon or so of a good quality balsamic or of a thicker glaze. For the second batch, try 2 tablespoons of vinegar – I like ume plum vinegar but red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar is fine. You can substitute ¼ cup vegan broth for the 1st batch of vinegar.
  • ✓ 2-3 cloves garlic, finely (1/8” or less) diced or minced
  • ✓ ½ teaspoon garlic powder; you can use an optional second ½ teaspoon as well
  • ✓ 2 large firm but ripe tomatoes (try heirloom varieties if you can find them; I love Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, and German Johnson, among other varieties, but any good tomato would do) cut into ¾” cubes. If you have them available, also use so-tasty (like candy!) sungold cherry tomatoes – maybe ½ a pint cut into halves
  • ✓ Approx. ¼ cup (more or less to preference) onion cut into ¼” cubes or ¼” x approx.. 1” half moons; I recommend using several varieties like red, sweet, and spring)
  • ✓ ¼ cup (more or less to taste) halved pitted olives (I like green but any olive of your preference will do nicely)
  • ✓ 8-10 (more if you wish) leaves torn or chiffonade of fresh basil
  • ✓ Pinch of salt
  • ✓ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

These are optional. After including the main ingredients from the top, optionally can include one or more of the top ingredients:-

  • ½ medium cucumber, peeled, seeded (or not; I like the seeds!), and chopped into 3/8” cubes
  • 1-2 medium stalks of celery, including leaves, thinly (1/4”) sliced
  • Medium bell pepper cut into 3/8” cubes
  • 14-16 ounce can of water-packed artichoke hearts; drain and rinse then cut into 3/8” cubes
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 6-10 leaves oregano OR (if you love lavender) 4-6 halved lavender needles (don’t use both)
  • ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
  • Peas; I don’t add peas but if you love them, feel free to add a cup of peas
  • Avocado; I think that this would make the flavor too rich but if you love avocado, try half of an avocado cut into 3/8” cubes
  • Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (about 180°C)
  2. Put the bread in a large bowl and mix in the 1st batch of vinegar or broth, garlic, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Toss or mix to coat the bread (don’t worry if the coating isn’t uniform or even if it isn’t on every piece of bread) then arrange the bread on a baking sheet and bake till crisped – check after about 5 minutes and every minute or so thereafter till done (you can even cook it a bit more to get golden in color but it’s not necessary), then return it to the bowl.
  3. Add to the bowl the tomato, onion, olive, basil, and any of the optional ingredients; mix
  4. In a small bowl mix the 2nd batch of vinegar, salt, black pepper, and, if used, the optional ½ teaspoon garlic powder; toss into the salad

This makes about 4 1-cup servings. If you have the luxury of time, cover and chill for a half hour or slightly longer to allow the flavors to marinate and the bread to soften. You can also serve after just a few minutes once the bread has absorbed some of the tomato juice and other ingredients. Based on the juiciness and your preference, serve in a bowl or plate. I like plating it so that over time as I eat some of the flavors merge with main course dishes that I serve with the salad.

For an easier but not as tasty version, which doesn't use vinegar or require refrigeration or use of an oven, try this alternative:

  • Use one or two thick slices of firm at least 2-day-old bread with crusts removed, cut 1/2" to 1"; put in a large bowl
  • Dice 2 medium firm-but-ripe tomatoes to 1/2" - 1" and layer on top of bread
  • Add onion, basil, and any of the optional ingredients as above
  • Add salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste and drizzle with vinegar of choicel
  • Mix well and set aside, covered, for at least 1-2 hours to let flavors blend (don't refrigerate), then mix again and serve as above

On a related note, you can easily salvage bread that is a bit hard by making crunchy croutons for topping salads or soups. Remove crust and cut your bread into 1/4"-1/2" cubes then baking or toasting as above. Alternatively, put ½ teaspoon or less of oil on a cast iron pan; heat the pan for a minute then wipe off the oil; add 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic and a few coarsely chopped pieces of fresh rosemary (and/or your other favorite herbs), then add the bread cubes. Stir constantly until the bread crisps (should be a few minutes). Serve on top of a soup or salad.

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