Panzanella Salad
This salad is perfectly suited for summer meals. Serve as a side or as a main with some grilled meat or fish, and of course some rosé.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Ripe Tomatoes cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 6-8 oz Rustic Sourdough Bread cut into 1-inch cubes
- 5 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil divided
- 1 Cucumber peeled, seeded and cubed
- 1 tbsp Red Wine vinegar
- freshly ground black pepper
- large handful of Basil Leaves torn (leaving a few whole for garnish)
Instructions
- Place tomatoes in a colander set over a bowl to save the juices, and season with the salt. Toss to coat. Set aside at room temperature to drain, tossing occasionally while you toast the bread.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, toss bread cubes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Remove colander with tomatoes from the bowl with tomato juice. Add the vinegar to the tomato juices, and whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil. Season dressing to taste with pepper (the tomatoes and their juice are already salty, so I don’t recommend adding additional salt).
- Combine toasted and cooled bread cubes, tomatoes, cucumber, and torn basil leaves in a large bowl - drizzle dressing over the top. Toss everything to coat and taste for seasoning. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before serving, tossing a couple of times in the interim to distribute the dressing.
Notes
Allow enough time (roughly 30 minutes) for the ingredients to "get to know each other" and for the bread to soften a little bit.
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