Panzanella or Panmolle

Panzanella or panmolle is a Tuscan and Umbrian bread salad popular in the summer. Yes, a bread salad. Bread is the star and the other ingredients, are the supporting actors here. Don’t let that fool you though. This bread salad is going to become a family favorite after the first bite!

This bread salad is a perfect hot summer night dish. Eat it alone, or pair it with a nice grilled fish steak, chicken breast, pork chop, or steak. For an added twist, add some cucumbers, anchovies, fresh mozzarella, olives, roasted vegetables, tofu, or capers.

Extremely versatile and adaptable to whatever time of year it is, whatever you have on hand or feel like eating. There really is something to be said about such a super simple salad.

TIPS – thank you to J. Kenji Lopez-Alt for his tips here

• No stale bread on hand? No worries; toss your fresh bread into the oven and dry it out quickly. This gives the bread a better texture. 15 mins at 350*F
• Cut your tomatoes into bite-sized chunks. Place tomatoes in a colander over the salad bowl you will be making the salad in, to collect the juice. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt using the amounts below as a guide. Toss to coat. Toss or stir tomatoes from time to time for the next 15 – 20 minutes. This will pull out the moisture from the tomatoes; meaning, that juice won’t dilute the flavors of the salad. 1 tsp of salt per 1 pound of tomatoes – try to use Diamond Kosher Crystal salt (which we sell in-store). If using table salt, reduce salt by half.
• Use the juice from above to add to your dressing/vinaigrette for additional flavoring and as part of the acid component.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups of bread cubes – 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubed in size
• 3 large tomatoes – maybe try a variety of them; heirloom, Roma, cherry, etc – cut into the same size as your bread cubes
• freshly picked basil leaves roughly chopped – up to 1/2 cup

VINAIGRETTE

• 2-3 cloves of finely chopped, minced, or microplaned garlic
• 1 small shallot finely chopped, minced, or microplaned
• 8 to 10 tablespoons (1/2 to 3/4 cup) of The Olive Junction Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 1/2 – 1 tsp of Dijon or grainy mustard
• 2 to 3 tbsps of tomato juice from above
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• The tomato juice will have a salt component.

INSTRUCTIONS

• As your tomatoes are salting, place the cubed bread in the oven to dry out
• Remove bread from the oven and allow to cool
• Move the colander of tomatoes to a plate or place it in the sink
• Place the bowl on a damp kitchen towel or paper towel.
• Leave 2-3 tbsps of the tomato juice in the bottom of the bowl to start (do not discard the rest)
• Add all the remaining vinaigrette ingredients except for the Arbequina EVOO and pepper.
• Whisking vinaigrette ingredients constantly, slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup (8 tbsps) of EVOO.
• Taste and adjust your seasonings as needed; pepper and salt.
• Place all ingredients in the bowl and toss to coat with the dressing
• Allow the bread salad to sit for about 30 minutes. This will give the bread pieces time to absorb the dressing and the other flavors to mingle.
• Serve and enjoy! Try adding a finishing drizzle of our 18 Year Aged Traditional Balsamic Vinegar