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Panzanella Salad
This staple of the Italian peasant kitchen makes a brilliant lunch and is equally good served as a barbecue side dish with grilled steak or fish. It’s traditionally made with stale bread, but this recipe uses crispy crostini.
Prep Time
20 minutes mins
plus standing
Serves
8
Salads & Sides
Italian
BBQ
Potluck
Ingredients
1 1/2 kgs ripe tomatoes
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
6 anchovies, chopped
2 tbsp capers, drained
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp fresh oregano, leaves
40 basil leaves, torn
80g parmesan, shaved
1 baguette, sliced and toasted with olive oil
Method
To make the crostini, preheat your oven to 180°C/350ºF fanbake. Spread the baguette slices on a baking tray, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven until golden and crisp (20 minutes). Remove and allow to cool completely.
Method
Core large tomatoes and cut them into chunks, or halve cherry tomatoes. Place in a large bowl, toss through salt and allow to stand for at least an hour or up to 2 hours to release their juices.
Heat the oil in a frypan and gently fry the garlic, anchovies, capers and chilli flakes for about a minute to soften, taking care not to brown the garlic. Mix into the tomatoes along with the vinegar and pepper.
Just before serving, add oregano, basil and parmesan or pecorino. Tear bruschetta, crostini or croutons into bite-sized pieces, add to the salad and toss gently to combine.
