You will need the best, in-season, sweet and ripe tomatoes to make this knock-out Summer Tomato Panzanella Salad. Colourful tomatoes and crunchy bread cubes are tossed with red onions and a simple garlicky dressing. Addictive and delicious, each bite is like a burst of summer in your mouth.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Resting time30 minutesmins
Servings: 6
Ingredients
1loaf of fresh, or day old, crusty bread cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, dividedplus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
2 1/2 lbsripe, in-season tomatoessliced in wedges or bite-sized pieces
1/4red onionthinly sliced
¼cupred wine vinegar
1large garlic clovegrated or minced
½cupfresh basil leaves, roughly choppedplus more for garnish
4ozfresh mozzarella, torn into bite size piecesoptional
falky salt, to finishoptional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss together the bread cubes with 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and lay out evenly. Bake until crisp on the outside but still slightly soft on the inside, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, red onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and a few cracks of fresh pepper.
Once the bread has cooled, add to the tomato bowl and toss gently to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar, garlic and remaining extra-virgin oil. Pour over the tomato mixture and toss again gently until everything is combined. Let rest for 20-30 minutes, tossing once or twice.
To serve, stir in the basil and top with fresh mozzarella, if using. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle a little olive oil over top. Garnish with a few more basil leaves, and sprinkle with flaky salt, if desired.
Notes
Although the salad benefits from a 30 minute rest before serving, if pressed for time, just toss the salad really well and serve immediately.This is the flaky salt I use.