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Panzanella (Italian tomato and bread salad)

Panzanella is a classic tomato and bread salad from Tuscany. Bursting with ripe tomatoes, cucumber and basil, it's hard to think of a salad that screams "summer" any louder. Chunks of lightly toasted bread meanwhile bring delicious texture and some heft to the salad, making it filling enough for lunch or a light meal.Be warned, this salad demands the very best tomatoes! If you don't have juicy tomatoes, don't make this. Make another salad instead!And though some Italians may tell you toasting bread is not the traditional way to make Panzanella, don't skip it. That is, unless you WANT unidentifiable white mush in your bowl within minutes of making this!

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Sweating tomato, resting and cooling
25 mins
Total Time
50 mins
Servings: 4 - 5 people as a side
Calories: 431 kcal
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

  • 4 - 5 cups (loosely packed) stale bread , torn into 2.5cm/1” chunks (~180g/6 oz, depending on bread used)
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 medium tomatoes (Note 1)
  • 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt (or 3/4 tsp table salt)
  • 2 Lebanese cucumbers (or 1 long telegraph/English cucumber), peeled (optional) (Note 3)
  • 1 cup basil leaves , loosely packed
Dressing:
  • 2 tbsp red or white wine vinegar (Note 4 for other options)
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil , the best you can afford
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic , finely minced (~1 large or 2 small)
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Toast bread:
    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C /350°F (160°C fan).
  2. Toss bread chunks with 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.
  3. Toast: Spread bread on a a tray and toast for about 15 minutes, until the outside is becoming golden and crunchy but the inside is still a little soft, like toast. Remove and leave to cool.
Salad:
  1. Cut tomato into 8 wedges each. Cut some of these wedges into half (I like irregular shapes for this rustic salad).
  2. Sweat tomato with salt: Put tomatoes into a colander over a large bowl. Season with the salt, toss and set aside for 10 minutes to draw out the juices. RESERVE the tomato juice in the bowl for the dressing.
  3. Cut cucumber into any shaped chunks aroun 2.5cm / 1" pieces. Again, I like to do irregular but even-sized shapes.
  4. Toss veg: Place tomato sweating in colander into large bowl. Add cucumber and basil, toss gently.
  5. Tomato Dressing: Add Dressing ingredients into bowl holding the tomato juice, whisk well.
  6. Dress salad: Add bread to salad, pour over dressing. Give it a light toss.
  7. Rest then serve: Leave for 5 minutes to let the juices soak into the bread, tossing once or twice. Toss once more just before serving!

Notes

  • Juicy and ripe tomatoes! You need to use the absolute best quality tomatoes you can find. They must be juicy and ripe, so they drop plenty of tomato juices when salted. Use all the tomato juice you catch for the dressing!
  • Bread - You want a 1:2 ratio of bread to vegetables by volume, ie. twice the amount of vegetables as bread.
  • Breads that sit in the middle of the spectrum of denseness work best. We want a bread with an open crumb, but still some heft. Best breads (in order of preference): ciabatta, pane di casa / artisan loaf, open-crumbed sourdough (ie. hole-y, not dense), Turkish bread.
  • Toasting bread is not strictly traditional. But unless you toast, it turns into unidentifiable soggy mush within minutes of dressing!
  • Don’t use baguettes or dinner rolls (too light) nor use bread that’s too dense.
  • Cucumber peeling - Recommended for telegraph/English cucumbers which can have tougher skin. Optional for other softer skin cucumbers - I do it for visual interest.
  • Other vinegar options: cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar or white balsamic.
  • References – Thanks to Kenji from Serious Eats for the panzanella trick of salting the tomatoes and using the juices as part of the dressing.

Nutrition Information

Calories 431cal (22%) Carbohydrates 32g (11%) Protein 6g (12%) Fat 32g (49%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Polyunsaturated Fat 4g Monounsaturated Fat 23g Sodium 972mg (41%) Potassium 539mg (15%) Fiber 3g (12%) Sugar 6g (12%) Vitamin A 1500IU (30%) Vitamin C 23mg (26%) Calcium 51mg (5%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4- 5 people as a side

Amount Per Serving

Calories 431

% Daily Value*

Calories 431cal 22%
Carbohydrates 32g 11%
Protein 6g 12%
Fat 32g 49%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g 24%
Monounsaturated Fat 23g 115%
Sodium 972mg 41%
Potassium 539mg 11%
Fiber 3g 12%
Sugar 6g 12%
Vitamin A 1500IU 30%
Vitamin C 23mg 26%
Calcium 51mg 5%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.