Crunchy Tuscan “panzanella” (bread salad)
Ingredients
for 4 people:
4 ripe tomatoes
10 basil
leaves
4 slices of
Tuscan bread (slightly stale,
few-day-old bread)
1 cucumber
1 red onion
Salt and
pepper
White wine
vinegar
Olive oil
Peel and thinly slice the onion,
then soak it in a bowl with water and vinegar in equal parts for at least an hour. Peel the cucumber, slice it thinly
and keep aside. Wash the tomatoes, cut in half, remove the seeds, cut into small pieces and keep aside. Cut the bread into cubes, put
a small swirl of olive oil in a non-stick pan and heat for a minute or two,
pour in the bread and let it toast for some minutes, stirring. Drain the red
onion from its soaking water and put it into a large salad bowl, add the
tomatoes, cucumber the hand torned basil leaves. Season with olive oil, salt
and pepper and a few tablespoons of vinegar. Mix all the ingredients gently
with a spoon, taste and, if necessary, add more vinegar. Now add the bread and
mix again. Let the panzanella rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving. You can add some other
ingredients (mozzarella, olives, bresaola, etc.) according to your taste.
