Panzanella

By Chef Danielle August 20th, 2009

I am in full harvest mode with my garden now and it is so exciting.  My herbs are growing beautifully, which I have to admit was not the case in  years past, and it seems like I find a new tomatoe or cucumber to pick everyday.   One of the reasons I am so excited is because now I can make Panzanella and feature in on this blog.  I made it for the first time about 3 years ago and absolutely fell in love with it.  It is such a fresh and delicious dish, especially when you use home grown veggies and fresh made croutons.  I had enough tomatoes and cucumbers to make it for a Sunday Picnic with my extended family (about 30 people).  Everyone loved it and it went perfect with the Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches from Dream Dinners.

aug-19-0061Panzanella

3 Tbsp good olive oil
1 small loaf of French Bread, cut into 1-in cubes (6 cups)
1 tsp salt
2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-in cubes
1 cucumber unpeeled, seeded, and cut into 1-in cubes
1 red bell pepper,  seeded, and cut into 1-in cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, and cut into 1-in cubes
1/2 red oinon, cut in half and thinly sliced
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp capers, drained
Vinaigrette
1 tsp finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Heat the oil in a large saute pan.  Add the bread and salt, cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 min, or until nicely browned.  Add more oil as needed.
For vinaigrette, whisk together the ingredients.
In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers.  Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  Allow salad to sit for 1/2 hour so flavors with blend, waiting to long will let the bread cubes get mushy.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 at 8:23 am and is filed under side dish recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Panzanella”

  1. Kendahl Says:
    August 20th, 2009 at 10:41 am

    Oh wow, this looks SO good! I don’t think I could ever get my husband to eat it, but I’m sure going to try!

  2. Peter Says:
    August 22nd, 2009 at 4:23 am

    Hmm… I read blogs on a similar topic, but i never visited your blog. I added it to favorites and i’ll be your constant reader.