Panzanella Salad
Featuring two of our top sellers: Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic and Tuscan Herb Olive Oil, this classic Italian bread and tomato salad manages to be fresh and summery, but still hearty enough to eat as a light supper or lunch. This recipe was originally created to take advantage of day old or stale bread and fresh juicy tomatoes. The juice from the tomatoes and the liquid from the other ingredients will soften and re-hydrate the bread.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups of day old Italian bread, torn into bite size pieces.6 cups of day old Italian bread, torn into bite size pieces
- 1/3 C. The Olive Tap’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil to bake the bread
- Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 C. The Olive Tap’s Tuscan Herb Olive Oil
- 2 T. The Olive Tap’s Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar
- 4 Ripe medium Tomatoes, heirloom if you can find them. Cut into bite sized pieces, juice reserved
- 1 small to medium Red Onion peeled, sliced then chopped coarse
- 10 fresh Basil leaves sliced into thin strips
- 1/2 C. pitted and sliced Green Cerignola, Castelvetrana or other olives
- 1 C. small sized fresh mozzarella balls
*Also delicious with Aceto 4 Balsamico di Modena
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the bread with 1/3 cup of olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Lay the bread onto a large shallow baking sheet and toast until just golden, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1/4 cup of Tuscan Herb Olive Oil and the Sicilian Lemon or Aceto 4 Balsamic Vinegar.
Gently combine the bread, tomatoes with juice, onion, basil, olives and mozzarella. Toss with the vinaigrette and let stand for a few minutes then serve.
Recipe by Rick