Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Panzanella

And to think, until a couple years ago, I'd never even heard of panzanella, also known as bread salad.  Thanks to the wonderful world of blogging, this is now one of my favorite quick summertime meals -- especially once the home-grown tomatoes are flourishing.
Which they are. 
One of the things I love most about this recipe is I usually have all the ingredients on hand.  It takes less than a half hour to throw together. 
And it is delicious.
Did I mention how delicious it is?
In the book Real Simple Celebrations:  Easy Entertaining for Every Occasion, author Valerie Rains suggests that rather than freezing those hot dog and hamburger buns left over from summertime barbecues, you use them in this salad instead.  Brilliant idea.
Here are the instructions based on the recipe from the book:
PANZANELLA (BREAD SALAD)
2 hot dog or hamburger buns, cut into 1-inch pieces
2-4 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4 - 8 oz. crumbled feta cheese
1/4 c. thinly sliced basil
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T. balsamic or red wine vinegar
1/4 t. Kosher salt
1/8 t. black papper
Place cut up buns on baking sheet; bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  In large bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, cheese, and basil.  Add the oil and vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the toasted bread and toss.
So is anyone else swimming in tomatoes?

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9 Comments:

Blogger Joanne said...

i fell in love with panzanella this spring and now I think I want to make one for every season! This looks so good!

September 14, 2011 at 5:34 PM  
Blogger ~~louise~~ said...

If only I were swimming in tomatoes. Not this year I'm afraid.

My grandmother made bread salad on a regular basis from the "ends" of the bread. We were never permitted to throw even the teeniest piece of bread away and if we did by accident, we had to "kiss up to God."

I save all kinds of bread for bread pudding but for some reason the notion of bread salad has gone by the wayside. Thanks for revitalizing it Lynn.

And yes, I will try to remember the sidebar link:)

September 14, 2011 at 6:22 PM  
Blogger teresa said...

oh i just love panzanella, this looks just wonderful!

September 15, 2011 at 8:12 AM  
Blogger Mimi said...

We love panzanella too. With a good bottle of wine it is the perfect summer meal.
Mimi

September 15, 2011 at 9:30 AM  
Blogger Barbara Bakes said...

I hadn't heard of Panzanella until a couple of year ago either and I haven't made it yet. Your looks so good. I'm going to have to try it soon.

September 15, 2011 at 9:41 AM  
Anonymous Faith said...

Panzanella is one of my favorite summer treats when tomatoes are at their peak...yours looks great!

September 19, 2011 at 2:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm going to try this recipe for sure. I'm in love with anything with bread in it. :)
Chris

September 20, 2011 at 6:32 AM  
Blogger Ingrid_3Bs said...

Yay! So good you enjoy the salad. I think I mentioned it the last time we talked about it but I dislike tomatoes and leave them out. :)
~ingrid

September 29, 2011 at 8:51 AM  
Blogger The Blonde Duck said...

I'm addicted to tomatoes right now!

October 3, 2011 at 4:18 AM  

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