Panzanella is a Tuscan bread-and-tomato salad that, like most rustic Italian dishes, manages to be both simple and sublime. Invented as a way to make the most of day-old bread and a garden brimming with vegetables and herbs, at its most basic it consists of a piece of a crusty loaf, perfectly ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
The bread is torn or cubed, coated in olive oil, toasted until crisp and then tossed with the rest of the ingredients so it absorbs the flavorful juices from the tomatoes and dressing, and softens a bit, but retains a pleasant crunch. From there you can run with any number of variations, adding other vegetables and flavor elements such as cucumber, red peppers, fennel, red onion, scallion, additional herbs, capers and/or olives.
Chunks or small balls of fresh mozzarella cheese are also nice additions.
In the accompanying recipe, I include white beans for hearty texture and protein, which turns the salad into a main-course option. To integrate them and give the dish a somewhat more elegant spin, I depart from the usual big, rustic chunks of ingredients and instead dice the cucumber and use quartered grape tomatoes and small bread cubes so everything is petite and bean-size.
Also, rather than overwhelm the dish with heaps of bread, I use just enough of a whole-grain loaf to get the juice-sopping effect while keeping the dish lighter, more healthful and more vegetable-centric.
It’s an easy-breezy salad that feels just right for a summer lunch or to take to a cookout or picnic.
Panzanella with white beans
1/4cup extra-virgin olive oil
11/2cups cubed crusty whole-grain bread (1/2-inch cubes, preferably day-old)
3cups grape tomatoes, cut into quarters
1medium English (seedless) cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch dice
115-ounce can no-salt-added small white beans or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2scallions (white and green parts), sliced thinly on the diagonal
11/2teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
11/2tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2teaspoon salt
1/4teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8large basil leaves
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium skillet. Add the bread cubes and toss to coat. Cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until toasted and crisp. Let cool.
Toss together the tomatoes, cucumber, beans, scallions and thyme in a large bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and the vinegar; season with the salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
Fifteen to 20 minutes before serving, add the toasted bread cubes to the bowl. Tear the basil leaves into small pieces, letting them fall into the bowl, then toss to incorporate.
Makes 6 generous cups.
From nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger.
Nutrition 5/8 Per serving (based on 4): 300 calories, 10 g protein, 35 g carbohydrates, 15 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 430 mg sodium, 7 g dietary fiber, 5 g sugar
Ellie Krieger’s most recent cookbook is “Weeknight Wonders: Delicious Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes or Less” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013). She blogs and offers a weekly newsletter at www.elliekrieger.com.
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