Panzanella: A Peasant's Salad Fit For a King
It's said that Italian Panzanella is a peasant's salad, created to use up stale bread and plentiful, ripe tomatoes. With good bread hovering these days around $5 a loaf and tables of tomatoes overflowing at roadside stands and farmers markets, the recipe for Panzanella is a delicious relief to the season's economic uncertainty.
This particular recipe comes from my favorite gourmets, Zachary and Clark, who approach cooking, their favorite avocation, with a marvelous combination of scientific rigor and unbridled enthusiasm.
Over the years they have fed me their favorite dishes and given me the detailed recipes. They've tracked down the most unusual ingredients, the coolest kitchen toys and the best sources for ideas and inspiration. From their home in Vermont, they've promised to serve as my informal test kitchen and share their discoveries with us all.
Italian Panzanella: Tomato and Bread Salad
Ingredients:
1 pound ripe tomatoes
Kosher salt
2 cups two- or three-day-old bread, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1/4 cup Kalamata or Nicoise olives, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, mashed to a a paste with a pinch of salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Core and chop tomatoes; sprinkle with salt and let sit in colander to drain
2. About 20 minutes before serving, prepare next group of ingredients. Whisk together third group of ingredients. Add all the ingredients together and combine well. Let sit so flavors blend.
Serves 4-6
--Tracy Schneider
Western Reader on August 19, 2009 at 08:01 AM
Great recipe, Tracy! I grew up loving tomato sandwiches...plain whole wheat bread with slices of red, ripe tomato...nothing else (it was my concoction, and Mom never could understand why I didn't want mayo or lettuce included). In my small Wisconsin hometown during WWII, items like Kalamata olives and fresh basil leaves simply weren't part of my mom's cuisine -- she hated to cook, but golly! she sure could put on a great meal -- but then, most people will say their mom's cooking was the best. So, she never would have suggested olives or fresh basil leaves. Now, with today's recipe, I have a new taste to serve to my DH, and the timing is perfect.
BTW, I've kept all the brownie recipes, and intend to try them all. I am curious to see if any are better than DH's Aunt Elaine's (and those are excellent).
Thanks for a tasteful blog!
kamera stative on September 23, 2009 at 03:05 AM
This looks incredibly delicious! Bread and Italian food, probably my two favourite things in the world! Anyways, Thank you for sharing the recipe...
CABAL RMT on February 12, 2011 at 12:01 AM
rmt
The Maritime Union, ARGO聽RMT
have been speaking to 3FM following yesterday's銉囥偒銉兂聽RMT
shock announcement 銈€儵銉壜爎mt
that Mezeron were to aion聽rmt
cease their Liverpool freight services.Hellgate聽RMT
General Secretary Bob Crow has brandedff14聽rmt
the news a major victory for the Steam Packet workers,鐪熉犱笁鍦嬬劇鍙宱nline聽RMT
who up until this point had been fearingdragon聽nest聽rmt
for their jobs and the future of the company.Since the launch of Mezeron's competitive freight service they had taken some significant customers away from the Steak Packet,鐪犮倝銇亜澶ч櫢銈儹銉庛偣聽RMT
including Shoprite銉°偆銉椼儷銈广儓銉笺儶銉悸燫MT
and Tesco,銈€儓銉┿兂銉嗐偅銈燫MT
it's believed that now淇￠暦銇噹鏈汷nline聽RMT
they have ceased over local 300 jobs have been safeguarded.銉儘銉笺偢銉�rmt
Mezeron said ultimately it was a very ambitious project,銈ㄣ偪銉笺儕銉偒銈偣聽RMT
one which didn't see the volume growth expected and neccessary for them to 銉夈儵銈淬兂銉嶃偣銉埪爎mt
continue operating.銉兗銈汇兂銉堛儚銉笺儓聽RMT
have said that the threat 銈€儵銉夋垿瑷樎爎mt
of more competition isn't completely gone however,DEKARON聽RMT
and say they remain vigilant and geared up澶ц埅娴锋檪浠Ｂ燫MT
if any other threats are posed toCABAL聽RMT
the future of the Steam Packet service.CRONOUS聽RMT