Panzanella: the right recipe for your summer lunch
Panzanella: the right recipe for your summer lunch
Ingredients
- 240 g Bread unsalted, two-day old
- 2 beefsteak tomatoes
- 2 ripe cucumbers
- 2 small spring onions
- mixed salad of bitter salad
- Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- basil leaves
Instructions
- Soak the bread in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
- Drain it, squeeze it and crumble it into coarse pieces.
- Dice tomatoes, cucumbers and spring onions.
- Cut the salad Julienne style.
- Toss your panzanella with salt and extra virgin olive oil.
- Serve with basil leaves
Panzanella is one of the tastiest summer recipes. It requires simple ingredients (stale bread and vegetables) and is easy to prepare. You can have it as a starter or as a quick and light one-dish meal.
Here are some basic tips to prepare a perfect traditional panzanella!
1) Use bland, stale bread
The ideal bread to prepare panzanella is unsalted rustic bread which will not get sticky with vegetable juices but will rather remain grainy. This is an essential feature for the success of our recipe. For genuine panzanella, your bread should be a couple of days old as it will not crumble when moistened.
2) Your bread should not be too wet
Bread should be moistened just enough to become soft and appetizing again, before adding it to vegetables. Soak it for 10 – 15 minutes, then squeeze it well before mixing it with the other ingredients. Only thus will your panzanella have the right texture.
3) Use good extra virgin olive oil
One of the main ingredients of panzanella is extra virgin olive oil: it perfectly blends the bread and the vegetables while giving the recipe its unique flavor. Our Chef selected Farchioni Cold-pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil “Oli Italiani” obtained from Leccino, Peranzana and Coratina (cultivars from Southern Italy). This extra virgin olive oil is very intense and fruity, ideal for those who prefer strong flavors.
Now that you know all the secrets for a perfect panzanella, try your hand at our Chef’s recipe!
