Sicilian Panzanella
Serves:
?8
Made By:
Jeffrey Brown
"Very traditional Sicilian salad. Serve with any grilled meat
or fish. I like lamb chops or swordfish."
Panzanella recipes benefit from the liquid exuded by the
tomatoes, so we tossed them with some salt and let them drain
in a colander until they¡¯d shed a good bit of juice. Using
that juice in our Italian Bread Salad¡¯s dressing boosted its
fresh flavor. Staling the bread in the oven until it turned
golden brown gave our Panzanella a nutty flavor and allowed
the dressing to lightly saturate the pieces of bread before we
stirred in the tomatoes.
Prep Time: 30 min.
Ingredients:
| 6?cups |
rustic italian or?French bread, cut or torn into 1-inch
pieces (1/2 to 1 pound) |
| 1/2?cup |
extra-virgin olive oil |
|
salt and ground black
pepper |
| 2?cloves |
garlic, minced |
| 2 |
anchovy fillets, minced |
| 2?tablespoons |
capers, rinsed |
| 1 1/2?pounds |
tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut
into 1-inch pieces |
| 3?tablespoons |
red wine vinegar |
| 1 |
cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise,
seeded, and sliced thin |
| 1?cup |
mozzarella cheese, cubed |
| 1 |
small?red onion, halved and sliced thin |
| 1 |
shallot, sliced thin |
| 3?tablespoons |
mint leaves, chopped |
| 1/4?cup |
fresh basil , chopped |
Directions:
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400
degrees. Toss bread pieces with 2 tablespoons oil and ?
teaspoon salt; arrange bread in single layer on rimmed baking
sheet. Toast bread pieces until just starting to turn light
golden, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Set aside
to cool to room temperature.
2. Gently toss tomatoes and ? teaspoon salt in large bowl.
Transfer to colander and set over bowl; set aside to drain for
15 minutes, tossing occasionally.
3. Whisk remaining 6 tablespoons oil, vinegar, garlic, anchovy
fillets, capers, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper into reserved tomato
juices. Add bread pieces, toss to coat, and let stand for 10
minutes, tossing occasionally.
4. Add tomatoes, cucumber, shallot, onion, cheese, mint, and
basil to bowl with bread pieces and toss to coat. Season with
salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.
Ginny Butterfield
Cranberry Twp, Pa
?
Virginia Butterfield