About a month ago in a comment in the "How to Keep Bread from Molding" post, Michael mentioned panzanella as a favorite dish. I’d never ever heard of it, so I went in search. Come to find out, panzanella is actually a pretty popular Italian salad. The classic Tuscan salad must include stale (or toasted) bread cubes (that’s where the pan in panzanella comes from) as well as onions and tomatoes. Cucumbers and basil are also often included in this salad, which is dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
With stale bread as the basis, it sounded like a perfect fit for food storage. But I have to admit, I was a little skeptical. I find soggy bread really disgusting, and I was a bit concerned that bread cubes—not croutons—would get soggy in a salad with dressing. I finally got around to making it for dinner Thursday night.
I searched through dozens of recipes on Food.com to identify a few recipes that didn’t use weird ingredients or seem too time-consuming. And then I created my own recipe. Aaron liked it, except for the onions, and I’ve decided that it’s a keeper for sure. I really look forward to making it with our own garden produce. All in good time. (Is summer ever going to arrive—we had snow three days this week!)
Prep School Daily’s Panzanella
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium to low heat. Add the bread cubes and stir into the olive oil. Cook about 10 minutes, tossing frequently, until lightly toasted. These are not to be hard, crunchy croutons. They should still be soft in the center.
In a salad bowl, combine the bread crumbs, vegetables, basil, parsley, and garlic. In a small jar combine the vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve on a bed of salad greens.
Notes: A wide variety of breads may be used here. French bread, ciabatta, sourdough, sandwich bread. And the bread may be torn or cut into cubes. If the bread is not hard and stale, it should be toasted in olive oil in a skillet. Dense breads work better than light loaves. Additional ingredients that could be incorporated include cheese cubes, olives, capers, bell pepper strips, carrots, celery, tuna, and eggs.
Links to related posts:
How to Keep Bread from Molding
Don’t Let the Bread Waste—Make Croutons
Natural Solutions for Preventing Mold in Homemade Bread
The Extreme Importance of Bread
References:
https://www.food.com/recipe/barefoot-contessas-panzanella-salad-135723
https://www.food.com/recipe/panzanella-bread-salad-58958
5 july 2024
