There are many variations of the famous Panzanella Bread Salad throughout Italy. This recipe is the perfect fresh spring or summer meal, with whole slices of sourdough bread and seasonal vegetables. So tasty!
Peel and thinly slice: cucumber, carrots and celery. Thinly slice onion to taste. Cut the tomatoes into large, bite-size pieces. Cut them over a bowl to save the juice.
2 ½ lbs fresh tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 4 ribs celery, 1 small onion, 2 carrots
Transfer all of these ingredients to a large bowl with the juice from the tomatoes.
Season the Vegetables
Add 4 basil leaves (torn in half) and 2 whole cloves of garlic to the vegetables. We will remove the garlic after the vegetables marinate. Give everything a good mix.
2 cloves fresh garlic, 4 leaves fresh basil
Add the salt, vinegar, black pepper and at least 9 Tbs of olive oil to the vegetables. Give everything a good mix.
9 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp black pepper, 4 pinches fine salt
Let the vegetables rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. After about 30 minutes, remove the garlic and basil leaves.
Assemble the Panzanella
Quickly dip each slice of bread into filtered water. Arrange half of the bread slices next to one another on a serving platter.
14 slices sourdough bread
Generously drizzle olive oil on the bed of bread. Spoon the liquid from the marinated vegetables over the bread as well. Distribute half of the vegetables over the bed of bread.
Repeat for the second layer.
Let the prepared Panzanella rest for 30 more minutes before serving it. Before serving, drizzle on more extra-virgin olive and salt to taste. Buon appetito!
Notes
Peel Celery RibsRemove the outer, stringy part of the celery with a potato peeler before dicing. Use Day-Old BreadIt's best to use slightly stale (1-2 day old) bread for this recipe. This will ensure the bread can soak up liquid without becoming soggy!