Summertime Panzanella

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Traditionally made with stale bread, tomatoes, onions, and basil, summertime is the best time to prepare panzanella. Don’t skip the homemade croutons; they are irreplaceable in this dish. Ingredients with an asterisk (*) are available seasonally right here in North Iowa! Click on select ingredients to find them nearby or stop by your local farmer’s market.

Prep Time1 15

Total Time1 15

Course: Lunch, Salad

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: basil, bread, cucumbers, garlic, green onion, microgreens, onion, salad, summer, tomatoes

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 229kcal

Author: Mallory DeVries

Equipment

Oven
Large Bowl
Jar
Kitchen Knife

Ingredients

1 small red onion* sliced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 cup croutons from stale bread*, hand-torn into 1" pieces. See tips below.
1 pint cherry tomatoes* stemmed and chopped in half or quarters
2 large tomato* ripe, chopped
2 cucumbers* peeled and sliced
16 basil* torn
flaky sea salt to taste
microgreens* optional

Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing

4 tbsp shallots or onions* chopped
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 large tomatoes* ripe
4 basil* torn
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic* smashed
salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare the croutons: Using leftover bread (sourdough or other), tear the bread into about 1 inch pieces. Spread the bread pieces on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Bake for about 12 minutes, until crisp.
Toss the sliced red onion with the vinegar and let sit for 15 minutes (called maceration). Meanwhile, prepare the dressing (see below).
In a large salad bowl, place half of the croutons and toss with 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette. Place all of your tomatoes on top and salt generously. This will encourage the liquids out of the tomato. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Add rest of croutons, cucumbers, onions. Toss and add vinaigrette until texture is satisfying. Taste and adjust salt + pepper as necessary. Serve.

Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing

In a jar, let the shallot or onion sit in the vinegars for 15 minutes (called maceration).
Cut your tomato through its equator and grate it into a large bowl then add to shallots. Add remainder of ingredients and shake well. Let sit for 10 minutes and then remove the garlic clove.
Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to two days.

Video

Nutrition