Panzanella, Tuscan Bread Salad

What Is Panzanella?

This Tuscan bread salad known as Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan bread salad made with stale bread, ripe tomatoes, cucumber, onion, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil. Today, it is one of Italy’s most popular summer dishes thanks to its fresh, simple ingredients.

Because this recipe requires no cooking, it is ideal on hot days. In fact, it is perfect when tomatoes are at their best.

Panzanella has humble peasant origins and comes from Tuscany, although people also enjoy it throughout Central Italy, especially in Umbria and Lazio. Tuscans traditionally make it with pane sciocco, their famous salt-free bread. However, any good-quality rustic stale bread works well.

My Version

For my version, I’ve added a few fresh mint leaves. Although they are not part of the traditional recipe, they give the salad an extra fresh flavour that is perfect in summer.

If you like, you can also add a handful of black olives for a richer, savoury flavour.

Serves 4, 15–20 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling

Stale rustic bread, to taste
4–5 ripe tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 red onion
A handful of fresh basil leaves
A few fresh mint leaves (optional)
A handful of black olives (optional)
½ glass white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste

Method

First, peel the cucumber and cut it into either thin rounds or bite-sized chunks, depending on the texture you prefer. Peel and thinly slice the red onion.
Next, cut the stale bread into chunks and soak it in a bowl of cold water mixed with the white wine vinegar until softened.
Then, squeeze the bread well with your hands to remove as much liquid as possible, then tear it into bite-sized pieces.
After that, place the bread in a large bowl and season with the extra virgin olive oil and a little salt.
Meanwhile gently squeeze the tomatoes each one with your hands into the bowl. This releases all their juices, which soak into the bread and become part of the dressing. Then tear the tomatoes into chunks and add them along with the cucumber and onion and, if using, the black olives.
Finally add the basil leaves and, if using, the chopped mint.
Before serving, refrigerate the panzanella for about 1 hour. Then, let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.