Panzanella Recipe

I love scouring used book stores for interesting old cook books to add to my collection. Recently I found a 1976 edition of "The Classic Italian Cook Book; The Art of Italian Cooking and the Italian Art of Eating" by Marcella Hazan. Turns out I am not the only one to appreciate this classic, as it has just been reprinted and rediscovered after 30 + years, under the title of "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking". Did someone ditch their old copy in favor of the new edition? If so, I am the happier for it. This book is a treasure trove of authentic Italian cuisine.

In her book, Marcella shares this panzanella recipe, which she calls "the poor man's dinner in parts of Tuscany and Rome". She says that in the original version, two and three day old bread was soaked in water, squeezed out, and added to the rest of the salad ingredients. However, she prefers the method of cutting the bread into cubes and pan frying it in olive oil to a crispy texture before tossing the bread with the veggies.

Tyler Florence knows a good thing when he sees it (which is one of the reasons I enjoy learning from him). In his beautifully photographed Eat This Book; Cooking With Global Fresh Flavors, he shares a very similar panzanella recipe from an "old, out of print Italian cook book". I think he must have been looking at Marcella's book for his source. In his version, instead of frying the bread cubes, he has you moisten the bread with olive oil and then toast them in the oven. I like that method, and will include it in the directions below. The rest of the recipe is Marcella's.

If you tried the tuna pan bagnat recipe, here's a tasty way to use up any leftover bread.

PANZANELLA (Bread and Vegetable Salada with Anchovies)

Ingredients:

Fresh or leftover French, Ciabatta, or some other rustic bread

1/2 to 2 cloves garlic, chopped (to taste)
3 or 4 flat anchovy fillets
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1/2 tsp salt (I like Kosher salt)
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
sweet red, green or yellow peppers, seeded and diced (as much as you like)
ground pepper to taste
seeded and sliced cucumber
1 medium, firm, meaty tomato, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion sliced

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Tear the bread into bite size pieces (or cut into cubes), toss with olive oil to moisten. Spread the bread on a cookie sheet and lightly toast in the oven. Remove and set aside.

For the dressing:
Mash the garlic, anchovies and capers to a pulp. (Use a mortar and pestle, or the flat blade of a wide knife on your cutting board). Put this into a large work bowl.
Add the seasonings, olive oil, vinegar, and blend thoroughly.
Now add the toasted bread, all the vegetables, and toss gently to coat in the dressing. Taste and correct seasonings.

This salad makes a fabulous dinner or antipasto. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Comments

[kevin]

Andrea,
Thanks for the reminder. I haven't made panzanella yest this year.

[Gabriella]

I have had a panzanella twice this year and one of the ladies that joined in the Summer Salads submitted her version!

[Jessica Fromm]

I'm glad you found the old Hazen cook-book because it confirms my memory of a bread salad my husband & I ate at in Florence, 22 years ago at a restaurant serving locals. Unlike the other recipes I've found on the internet which describe fresh or toasted cubed bread, the bread in that salad would have been soaked and wrung out as she described. My old memory is vindicated. Now, if I can spare the calories (and not eat the bread before it gets stale), I'll try both versions.