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This is the third consecutive August we’ve made what we call “Bread Salad” as our official Syllabus Sunday (or Friday or Saturday) meal, so I guess it is now a tradition!

What exactly is panzanella? In true 2020 Internet fashion, you can find any number of quasi-made-up definitions if you Google search this term. My linguistic hunch is that the “pan” prefix is related to the word “pane,” or “bread.” My working hunch (which may be a better form of intuition here) is that this salad is what happens when you add zucchinis and cucumbers to a basic Caprese salad–along with a whole lot of bread.

And “a whole lot of bread” is indeed what we have on hand (i.e., frozen) after a pandemic-tastic July spent baking *lots* of sourdough loaves, trying to figure out what makes this (new-to-me) baking art tic. Though the original recipe calls for “half a French baguette,” this year I discovered that three-quarters of a 400g boule of sourdough filled one baking tray, which produced more than enough bread for this salad.

And props to Fall Line Farms and Local Roots for the succulent seasonal veggies! Basil, garlic, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and even the mozzarella are from their producers. If you live in the Richmond area, check them out!

  • Farm-fresh cherry tomatoes!
  • Fresh mozzarella!
  • Fresh Genovese basil!

PANZANELLA (A.K.A. BREAD SALAD)

Lightly adapted from Ann Kim’s “Summer-Market Vegetable Panzanella,” WSJ August 16, 2018

c. 30 minutes to prep.
Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 small shallot
  • 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp chopped basil [or other herb, but i.m.o. basil is best]
  • 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil for dressing, plus 2 Tbsp for drizzling on bread
  • c. 300g of French bread, baguette, or sourdough sliced in 1/2-inch thick rounds or slices. (Enough to fill one standard-sized baking tray in one layer.)
  • 1 garlic clove, halved. OR, garlic salt. OR, garlic powder.
  • 3 small cucumbers, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds (or, 1 big cucumber).
  • 1/3 cup of pitted and chopped Castelveltrano olives
  • 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes, or wedges of 1-2 larger tomatoes
  • 6 ounces feta – or mozzarella – or fresh chêvre

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Toast the bread:

  • Heat oven to 375 F.
  • Cut a garlic clove in half and keep on hand for when bread is done toasting.
  • Arrange 1/2-inch thick slices of bread on a baking tray. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil, sprinkle with salt to taste, toss, and rearrange flat against baking tray.
  • Bake bread for c. 8 minutes, turning the bread slices halfway through.
  • Remove from oven, rub cut side of garlic against each bread slice, then let cool. (Yes, this really does work for imparting a light garlic flavor! In lieu of a fresh garlic clove, you might try sprinkling garlic powder on the bread, or use garlic salt if you omit the salt earlier.)
  • When the bread has cooled, tear or cut it into chunks.

2. Prepare the dressing:

  • Macerate 1 small minced shallot in 2 Tbsp of sherry vinegar and 1/2 Tbsp of Dijon mustard for 5 minutes. If you don’t have a shallot, you could use a small bit of red onion, or leave it out entirely, and the dressing will still taste great.
  • Add 3 Tbsp (or more) chopped basil and 3/4 cup olive oil to the shallot mixture. Whisk until emulsified.

3. Chop veggie base:

  • Combine zucchini and cucumbers, each sliced into 1/2-inch rounds, in a large bowl.
  • Add 1/4 cup pitted and chopped Castelvetrano olives.*
  • Add 1/2 cup torn basil leaves and toss.

4. Prepare separately:

  • 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • 6 ounces sliced or cubed cheese*

5. Just before serving, add the tomatoes, cheese, bread, and dressing to the bowl with zucchini, cucumbers, olives, and basil. Toss and serve!

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  • Freshly-sliced sourdough, drizzled with olive oil and lightly sprinkled with freshly-ground sea salt.
  • After toasting, rub garlic on bread slices before tearing into smaller chunks.
  • Shallot, macerating in vinegar and mustard.
  • Basil and oil added to finish the dressing.
  • Zucchini, basil, cucumbers, olives.
  • Salad base, awaiting tomatoes, cheese, bread, and dressing.
Toss the tomatoes, cheese, bread, and dressing with the veggie base right before serving. Buon appetito!

*Notes:

*This year’s rendition of Bread Salad featured fresh mozzarella cheese from Curds & Whey, large-ish cherry tomatoes that I quartered, and homemade sourdough bread that stayed soft in the center and lightly crispy on the outside after being toasted. In past years, I’ve used ingredients ranging from a store-bought baguette and homemade (baker’s yeast) bread, kalamatas in place of the Castelvetranos, large tomatoes in place of the cherry tomatoes, and goat cheese instead of mozzarella; without fail, the salad has turned out tasting delicious. So, it really doesn’t matter which specific ingredients you use, so long as they are fresh, ripe, in season, and involve lots of yummy bread and basil!

*For storing leftovers, I recommend keeping the veggie base (zucchini, cucumbers, basil, olives) separate from the tomatoes, cheese, bread, and dressing. Only toss the quantity you plan to consume in one sitting, right before you eat it. Store leftover tomatoes, cheese, dressing, and veggie base in separate containers in the fridge. I stored the cooled bread in a plastic bag on the counter, and it revived OK the next day after a quick ride in the oven.

*Also, a funny story re Castelvetrano olives: The first time I tasted them was at a host family’s home before a harp-and-voice concert on Virginia’s Eastern Shore c. 5 years ago. Our hosts served us appetizers al fresco before we set up for the concert, including the most delicious fresh crab cakes I’ve yet tasted, artisan cheeses, and Castelvetrano olives. We were so impressed with the olives and asked where one might find them. Lucky for us, we live right by the store they came from: Walmart!