Summer’s Bounty
August 12th, 2008
Last night we had sort of a summer’s bounty dinner. I made fresh corn soup and panzanella. Yum! Right now I’m having more panzanella for lunch. Basically it is an Italian tomato bread salad. Its an awesome way to enjoy super delicious, peak of the season, summer produce.
My version (with the Barefoot Contessa Vinaigrette):
- Salad Ingredients
red onions, sliced very thin
heirloom tomatoes (3 varieties), cut into medium chunks
sungold cherry tomatoes, halved through the belly button
lemon cucumber, chunked
basil, lots of it torn or roughly chopped
acme sour batard (bread), 1″ cubes
- Vinaigrette Ingredients
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Italian Romano Pecorino Sheep Milk, shaved with a vege peeler
For bread: Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add bread cubes and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Toss all salad & vinaigrette ingredients together, then top with shaved cheese.
(This photo is someone else’s version served on top of the bread)
I’m all about your blog, Vida.
So, is the bread allowed to cool then everything’s mixed in a bowl, or are the veggies tossed into the hot pan with the just-cooked bread? Either way, sounds yummy.
I do the bread first, then take it out of the pan and let it cool (which really only takes a minute). Then I prep the tomato, cucumber, etc and have that in a bowl. In another bowl I make the vinaigrette. Then once you are ready to serve, stir the bread into the tomato mix, and drizzle with vinaigrette. The vinaigrette recipe here is too much for 2 servings, so be sure not to add it all. Nothing is heated beside the bread.