Kitchen Recipe Collection
Italian Panzanella (Tuscan Bread Salad)
A brilliant Tuscan invention to use up stale bread. The hard bread is soaked in tomato juices and vinegar, tossed with cucumbers, onions, and basil.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- easy
- Cuisine
- italian
Ingredients
Scaled for 4 servings
- stale, rustic crusty bread (preferably unsalted Tuscan bread)
- very ripe, juicy tomatoes
- cucumber
- red onion
- fresh basil
- red wine vinegar
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Colander
Instructions
- 1
Prep the Bread
Tear or cut the stale, hard bread into large, rustic chunks.
- 2
Soak the Bread
Traditionally, the bread is briefly submerged in a bowl of water mixed with a little vinegar until just softened on the outside, then squeezed dry. (Modern variations skip water and let tomato juices do the soaking).
- 3
Macerate Onions
Thinly slice the red onion and let it sit in a small bowl with red wine vinegar for 15 minutes to take away its sharp bite.
- 4
Prep Veggies
Chop the ripe tomatoes and cucumber into large bite-sized chunks.
- 5
Combine
In a large serving bowl, combine the squeezed bread chunks, tomatoes, cucumbers, and the macerated onions (along with their vinegar).
- 6
Dress
Pour a very generous amount of high-quality extra virgin olive oil over the salad.
- 7
Season
Season heavily with salt and black pepper.
- 8
Tear Basil
Tear a large handful of fresh basil leaves directly into the bowl.
- 9
Toss Vigourously
Toss everything together thoroughly, massaging the ingredients slightly so the bread absorbs the tomato juices and dressing.
- 10
Rest
Crucial step: let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. The bread must soak up all the flavors.
- 11
Serve
Serve at room temperature as a light, refreshing summer lunch.
Cooking Tips
- The bread MUST be very stale and robust. Standard supermarket sandwich bread will dissolve into a mushy paste.
- Do not skimp on the olive oil or vinegar; the bread needs a lot of liquid to come back to life.
Variations
- Modern Panzanella: Toast the bread chunks in the oven with olive oil like croutons before tossing, ensuring they stay crunchy rather than soft.
Chef's Notes & Storage
- Tuscan bread is traditionally made without salt, making it dry out quickly, which necessitated recipes like this to avoid waste.
Nutrition Estimate
280 calories · 5g protein · 35g carbs · 14g fat · 4g fiber per serving
