"I decided to bring Italy home by making my own Panzanella as I remember it in Italy. Since I’ve been stocking up on tomatoes and corn on the cob before the summer season is out, it’s a perfect excuse to use these up! Chunks of ripe heirloom tomatoes, fresh sweet corn, thinly sliced red onion, Italian hard cheese, and big toasted bread chunks – a simple combo that’s literally summer on a plate. A perfect dinner salad, this recipe is a last-call for summer meals and will hit all your sweet, salty, and savory taste buds."
Panzanella Salad with Basil and Tomato
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- Recipe Card
Prep time 20mins
Cook time 5mins
Serves or Makes: 4
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 6 heirloom tomatoes
- 2 romaine, sliced
- 6 corn, kernels removed
- 1 red onion, small, chopped
- 4 pickling cucumbers
- Parm Reggiano
- 2 cubanelle or anaheim peppers, sliced
- 2 bread boules, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup basil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Method
Step 1
You can leave peppers raw, but I recommend roasting them if you have time! For roasted cubanelle peppers: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pepper strips on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and roast for about 30 minutes, until pepper are soft and slightly shriveled. Remove from oven.
Step 2
In a large bowl, layer romaine, tomatoes, raw corn, onion, cucumber, cooled (or raw) peppers, and cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. Add more later in ~50:50 ratio if you like more dressing! This dressing should be quite vinegary.
Step 3
For bread bites: Preheat oven on broil setting and place oven rack on top shelf. Take boules, cut off the bottom crusts of both boules, and hollow out the inside of the loaves using your hands. Tear the hollowed-out softer center into 2 inch chunks. Place on cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil on top. Place cookie sheet on top wire rack of preheated oven. Let bread toast for about 3-4 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and flip bread bites so un-toasted sides are face-up. Put back in oven for another 2-3 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside. Drizzle dressing from small bowl into the large bowl. Toss salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Plate salad, and top with bread chunks. Wow, wow, wow. It’s a beauty!