Panzanella is just a salad with bread and tomatoes. Although, I like to dress mine up a little bit with some red onion, cucumber and avocado.
I also like to toast the bread in olive oil before adding it to the other ingredients. This gives the bread a nice crispness on the outside, while still remaining chewy.
Here is the recipe I loosely follow for this light summertime lunch or dinner.
Panzanella Salad (serves 2-3)
- 1/2 baguette, torn into medium sized chunks
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 1/2 chopped red onion
- 1 diced avocado
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 chopped basil leaves
1. Heat olive oil in pan and add bread. Stir every few minutes, until bread is toasted
2. While bread is toasting, combine other ingredients in a bowl
3. Add bread directly from the pan, and mix all ingredients.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy :)