Lunch · 25 min · mediterranean

Panzanella

A Mediterranean lunch built around stale country bread and ripe tomatoes — on the table in 25 minutes.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 8 oz Stale country bread
• 2 lb Ripe tomatoes
• 1 Cucumber
• 1/2 Red onion
• 1 cup Fresh basil
• 3 tbsp Red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup Olive oil

Steps

1. Tear the bread into rough chunks and toast in olive oil until crisp and golden at the edges, about 8 minutes.
2. Chop the tomatoes and salt them in a bowl 10 minutes; the salt draws out the juices that become the dressing.
3. Whisk the tomato juices with vinegar and olive oil — the dressing is made from the tomatoes themselves, nothing else.
4. Toss the bread with the tomatoes, cucumber, and onion; the bread should drink up the dressing but keep some chew.
5. Rest 15 minutes so the flavors marry and the bread softens to the perfect soggy-crisp balance.
6. Fold in torn basil at the last moment so it stays bright.
7. Serve at room temperature; panzanella is Tuscany’s proof that stale bread is an ingredient, not a failure.

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