Panzanella

Name: Panzanella
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 900 g (2 lb) ripe tomatoes, mixed, cut into bite-size chunks; 6 g (1 tsp) fine sea salt; 250 g (9 oz) stale country bread or ciabatta, crusts on, torn into 3 cm pieces; 90 ml (6 tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil, divided; 1 small shallot, finely chopped; 1 clove garlic, finely grated; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tsp Dijon mustard, optional, helps the dressing hold; ½ cucumber, halved, seeded and sliced; ½ red onion, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp capers, rinsed; 15 g (a large handful) basil leaves, torn; black pepper

Tuscan tomato and bread salad, soaked in its own juices

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 20 min
Total: 55 min
Level: Easy

Panzanella is a summer salad where stale bread becomes the star by drinking up tomato juice, vinegar and olive oil. Salting the tomatoes and using their juice as the base of the dressing gives every bite of bread intense tomato flavor, while toasting the bread first stops it collapsing into mush.

Ingredients

900 gripe tomatoes, mixed (2 lb)cut into bite-size chunks
6 gfine sea salt (1 tsp)
250 gstale country bread or ciabatta (9 oz)crusts on, torn into 3 cm pieces
90 mlextra-virgin olive oil (6 tbsp)divided
1small shallotfinely chopped
1 clovegarlicfinely grated
2 tbspred wine vinegar
1 tspDijon mustardoptional, helps the dressing hold
½cucumberhalved, seeded and sliced
½red onionthinly sliced
2 tbspcapersrinsed
15 gbasil leaves (a large handful)torn
black pepper

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-free
Allergens: gluten, mustard, sulphites
Origin: Italy (Tuscany)
Season: Summer

Method

Toss the tomatoes with the salt in a colander set over a bowl. Leave 20–30 minutes, tossing now and then, to collect the juices. 25 min
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Toss the bread with 2 tbsp of the oil on a sheet pan and bake until crisp and light gold but not hard all the way through, 12–15 minutes. Cool. 13 min
Add the shallot, garlic, vinegar and mustard to the collected tomato juice (you should have about 80–120 ml). Whisk in the remaining 4 tbsp oil.
In a large bowl, toss the bread with the dressing and leave 10 minutes so it soaks up the juices. 10 min
Add the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, capers and basil, toss gently, and season with pepper and more salt if needed.
Let it sit 5–10 minutes before serving so the flavors meld but the bread still has some chew.

Why it works

Salting pulls the flavorful juice out of tomatoes, which then becomes the dressing, so the bread absorbs pure tomato rather than plain vinegar. Toasting dries and firms the bread's crumb, letting it soak up liquid while keeping its structure. A short rest gives the bread time to hydrate evenly without collapsing.

Common mistakes

Using soft fresh bread: it goes to paste. Stale or toasted bread is essential.
Throwing away the tomato water: it is the heart of the dressing.
Serving it hours later: the bread turns soggy. Serve within half an hour.

Variations

With peaches and burrata: Swap a third of the tomatoes for peach wedges and tear a burrata over the top.
Winter panzanella: Use roasted squash and red onion with the same toasted bread and a sherry vinaigrette.

Make ahead and storage

Toast the bread up to 2 days ahead and keep airtight. Assemble just before serving.

Notes

Mustard only if you add the Dijon.