Italian Bread Salad (Panzanella)

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

I have been searching for the perfect Panzanella recipe for weeks and finally came across one that suits me. I have only eaten Panzanella a handful of times but I have loved it every time. Many of the recipes I have found add what I consider to be extraneous ingredients such as red peppers, yellow peppers and mozzarella. The Panzanella I prefer has a limited number of basic but beautiful ingredients. The recipe I chose is as follows:

Ingredients:

6 cups rustic Italian or French bread, cut or torn into 1-inch pieces (1/2 to 1 pound)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 TBSP red wine vinegar

1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced thin

1 shallot, sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss bread pieces with 2 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt; arrange bread in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Toast bread pieces until just starting to turn light golden, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Gently toss tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Transfer to colander and set over bowl; set aside to drain for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Whisk remaining 6 tablespoons oil, vinegar and 1/4 tsp pepper into reserved tomato juices. Add bread pieces, toss to coat and let stand for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Add tomatoes, cucumber, shallot and basil to bowl with bread pieces and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Oh my goodness! This Panzanella was phenomenal! I had a gut feeling that it would be a good dish but the final result exceded my high expectations. I don't even know where to start. Probably what makes this recipe special is that the bread is toasted with olive oil and salt prior to soaking in the olive oil and vinegar mixture. When I read the Cook's Illustrated precursor to the recipe, the chef mentioned that they tried preparing the bread several ways and the toasted version had the richest flavor. I would certainly think so after tasting this dish. Another element that made the salad so wonderful was the gorgeous heirloom tomatoes from last Sunday's West Seattle Farmer's Market. I let them sit out on the counter for 5 days and by the time I cut into them, they were perfect. I can't believe how ripe and sweet they were. The final element that contributed to the success of this dish was the fresh baked Panzanella bread I purchased from the Farmer's Market. I allowed the bread to sit on the counter in a paper bag for 5 days (right next to the tomatoes) and it was stale perfection when I cut into it today.

I can't say enough about this recipe. I loved every bite. I will go out on a limb to state that a good indication of success is when you are standing over the serving dish with a fork, taking extra bites while saying "yum" and "oh my god" over and over. Makes me sound like a bit of a freak but this is exactly what happened. Needless to say, I highly recommend preparing this recipe for any occasion or no occasion at all. A special thank you to the folks at Cook's Illustrated who led me to the promise land once again.