Panzanella
Ever get a nice loaf of crusty bread with every intent on eating the entire thing in basically one sitting, to only get caught up in life and accidentally let the bread go stale? This happened to me recently with a rosemary herb sourdough loaf, so I decided to turn it into panzanella.
Panzaella is basically bread salad a.k.a my favorite kind of salad. I used fresh tomatoes and peppers from my garden along with some English cucumber and red onions in my panzanella - the fresher the vegetables and the staler the bread, the better the panzanella will be.
Stale bread is given new life when made into panzanella. You don't even need to leave your bread out for days if you are craving panzanella in the moment. Another way to make delicious panzanella is to cut up and toast the bread at a low temperature until it is about the hardness of a crouton, just a little more bready. The homemade Italian dressing soaks into the bread while leaving a soft center and an all around delectable bite.
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Panzanella
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- ½ loaf stale bread (I used rosemary herb)
- ½ cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
- ½ cup English cucumber, chopped
- ¼ cup red onion
- ¼ cup yellw onion
- 4 leaves basil, ciffonade
- 4 tbsps fresh parsley, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- ½ tbsp whole grain mustard
- ½ tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan, for topping
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
Mouth Feel
SaltyInstructions
- Cut the stale bread into 1x1 inch cubes. I used a rosemary herb bread, but any crusty bread will work. If you don't have stale bread, you can toast the fresh bread cubes at 200 F for 30-40 minutes and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
- Combine the bread, grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, yellow pepper, fresh basil and parsley. Toss gently and let rest for a few minutes so that the juices from the tomatoes and cucumber have time to start soaking into the bread.
- In a mason jar or small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, whole grain mustard, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper until it has emulsified into a vinaigrette. Pour the dressing over the bread and vegetables and toss until completely combined. The panzanella is good served right away at room temperature, or chill up to 24 hours to let the bread soak up as much flavor as possible. Drizzle with balsamic and Parmesan cheese as desired. Enjoy!
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