If you’re like me, and sometimes forget what’s in your pantry, you probably buy more bread than you can use on occasion. How many loaves have dried on your counter? Rather than throw it to the birds, you might soak it in milk kissed with cinnamon and sugar to make a buttery pan of French toast. You could pulverize the dry slices in a food processor to make bread crumbs, or cube and fry it in a little olive oil for salad croutons.
Even though we’re many weeks away from tomato season, I have an even tastier way to upcycle bread that’s beyond its prime. Use it as the base for panzanella, a rustic, traditional Italian salad made with stale bread, cucumbers and tomatoes.
OK, I just put my tomato plants in, thanks to uncooperative weather. But it’s important to remember panzanella isn’t so much a tomato salad flavored with bread as it is a bread salad that gets a boost from vegetables, including tomatoes.
No need to wait for your garden harvest. I’ve been finding some really nice containers of juicy yellow and red cherry tomatoes at my favorite grocery the last few weeks. It’s also easy to find an intensely flavored heirloom tomato at most larger grocery stores, and to be honest, unless you’re really picky about using only sun-ripened homegrown or locally grown fruit, the stem-tomatoes that come still on the vine are usually pretty good, too.
There’s a long tradition of pairing stale bread with seasonal veggies in central Italy. La cucina povera, or the kitchen of the poor, required poor peasants to improvise with what little they had in their pantries and gardens to make great food with simple, high-quality ingredients. The first written record of an early version of the dish — pan lavato, meaning “washed bread” — is believed to come from writer Boccaccio in the 14th century.
Panzanella is traditionally made with stale Tuscan bread, which has a bland crumb and a dark crust. My version is a little less conventional: I made the toasted bread cubes out of three day-old everything bagels I got at a deep discount at Oakmont Bakery. I also used sliced shallot instead of the more pungent red onion that often characterizes the dish because the allium I had waiting in my fridge had gone soft and mushy.
The combination of raw, juicy tomatoes, onions, crunchy cucumbers and bright green basil makes for a fresh, light summer lunch. Vinegar is essential in the vinaigrette — it gives the dressing a nice tang.
Panzanella salad
For salad
1 1/2 pounds assorted tomatoes, halved or cut into wedges
Sea salt
3 day-old bagels or 1/2 pound Tuscan or sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling bread
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot or red onion
1/2 English cucumber, sliced into half moons
1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, optional
For the dressing
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, or more to taste
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
Ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place tomatoes in a large bowl and toss with about 1 teaspoon salt. Allow to sit for around 5 minutes, then drain tomatoes over a large bowl, reserving the juices.
Place bagel or bread pieces in a large bowl, and drizzle with enough olive oil to cover (about 3 tablespoons). Toss to coat.
Scatter the bread on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. (I used everything bagels, so was sparing.)
Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until crispy around the edges.
Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and several grinds of pepper.
Add onion, tomatoes, cucumber and bread to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat. Add a little of the reserved tomato juices, and toss again. Add cheese, if using, and basil and gently toss.
Season to taste and serve with more fresh basil on top.
Serves 4.
— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette