Explore the Fresh Flavors of Traditional Panzanella Salad

Panzanella Salad

Panazanella Salad has a rich history as a Tuscan staple dating back to the 14th century in Italy, with a similar dish called "pan Lavato." Once tomatoes arrived from the "New World," they were added to the salad.

What to do with your leftover bread? Leftover sourdough?

We have the answer. Why not make a panzanella salad?

Panzanella Salad is perfect all year round, but especially now, when California fruit and vegetables are at their peak.

I put this together this past weekend with some leftover bread we had in the freezer. This simple recipe is adapted from one of our favorite regional cookbooks, "Culinaria Italy."

• Preheat your convection oven to 450F.

• 500G of bread. Begin with any bread you care for your salad. We happened to have a loaf of sourdough in the freezer. Take it and let it come up to room temperature on the counter. Slice it into cubes or bite-size pieces for your salad. Next, add the bread to the bowl and drizzle with olive oil. ( 90 grams), hand tossing to ensure all the bread has olive oil on each piece. Then, place it into a ceramic bowl, glass pie dish, or some tin foil that you will put in the middle rack of your oven. Cook for 8-10 minutes, checking periodically to see when the edges of the pieces start to brown. Once they have a golden brown color, you can remove them. Remember, not too crispy. Once done, let them cool on your counter.

• While that is cooking, dice five ripe heirloom tomatoes ( we used some from Temalpakh Farm)

• Dice one red onion

• Dice one cucumber

• One bunch of basil. Hand-pick some basil leaves from your garden plants or remove them one by one from each stem to avoid including any stems in your salad. Only the leaves add to your salad bowl.

• Add a vegan mozzarella ball. We used Cheese, and thank you. Slice it and add.

• Add four teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and two teaspoons of red wine vinegar.

• Now add the toasted bread to your bowl. Mix with your hands 4 to 5 times.

• Now, add your entire salad to a serving bowl and finish with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!