It’s mid-August and I have reached the height of my annual tomato addiction, bringing home bags upon bags of multicolored heirloom varietals after every trip to the farmer’s market. I’d be happy consuming B.L.T.’s until the frost hits but I am a bit worried about an expanding waistline or my family staging some form of intervention, so I have been trying to shake things up. Enter panzanella, or Tuscan bread and tomato salad.

I am a big fan of summer salads that are light, bright and crisp - but this isn’t one of those. Panzanella is the perfect salad when you need a something a bit more hearty (a mid-day snack for those weekend workdays out in the yard or a picnic after a long hike or bike ride). It’s a quick, no-cook salad recipe that is loaded with flavor and leaves you feeling full and satisfied.

The best part about panzanella is that it is really meant to use up odds and ends - day-old bread, extra tomatoes, or herbs you have on hand - you can really toss pretty much anything in there. The secret to success is using your hands as much as possible; rip up irregular and odd shaped bread pieces, press and squeeze the tomatoes, tear up the herbs, and toss to combine - the result will be a rustic salad that is absolutely beautiful in its irregularity.

Panzanella (adapted from Jamie’s Italy)
(Serves 6-8)

• 1 ½ pounds day old bread
• 2 ½ pounds mixed tomatoes
• Sea salt
• 12 anchovy fillets in olive oil (or 2 2-ounce tins)
• ¼ cup capers
• Handful fresh basil
• Handful fresh parsley
• ½ red onion, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for garnish)
• Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Using a bread knife, remove and discard any hard crusts and slice the bread into 1-inch thick pieces. Using your hands, rip the slices into bite-size, irregular pieces – the hand torn bread will look more rustic and will open up more area to soak in the tomato juices. Place the baking pieces on a large baking sheet and place in the slightly warm oven.

Set a large colander over a large mixing bowl. Roughly chop the tomatoes into irregular pieces and place in the colander, adding any juice that remains on your cutting board. Lightly season the chopped tomatoes with sea salt and mix thoroughly, using your hands to squeeze out any excess juices. Allow the tomatoes to drip for about twenty minutes.

Roughly chop the anchovies into small pieces. Add the anchovies and capers into the bowl with the tomato juice and marinate. Roughly chop the basil and parsley, and set to the side.

Remove the tomatoes from the colander and combine with the bread, finely sliced onion, basil, and parsley. Add the red wine vinegar and olive oil to the bowl with tomato juice and whisk vigorously. Season with a generous pinch of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Add the dressing to the tomato and bread mixture, using your hands to incorporate all of the ingredients.

Allow the salad to marinate for 15 minutes to 1 hour.

More Panzanella…

• David Lebovitz’s Bread Crisis
• Smitten Kitchen: Winter Panzanella
• Sugarlaws: Sunchoke Panzanella
• 101 Cookbooks: Strawberry Panzanella