Annabel Langbein's Panzanella
This staple of the Italian peasant kitchen is a brilliant barbecue side or lunch dish.
Annabel LangbeinFood writer
- prepare
- cook
- 6-8 servings
- Easy
Caption:Annabel Langbein's Panzanella SaladPhoto credit:Annabel Langbein
Panzanella makes a brilliant lunch and is equally good as a barbecue side with grilled steak or fish. It’s traditionally made with stale bread, but I like to use crispy croutons or bruschetta and add them just before serving so they stay crunchy.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette or similar, sliced
- 1.2kg tomatoes, cored and cut into bite-size chunks, or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 anchovies, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp capers
- 1 tsp chilli flakes, or less to taste
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 75g shaved parmesan or pecorino, cut with a vegetable peeler
- About 40 basil leaves
- 2 Tbsp torn oregano or marjoram leaves
Instructions
- To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 180°C/350ºF fanbake. Spread the baguette slices on a baking tray, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven until golden and crisp (20 minutes). Remove and allow to cool completely.
- Combine tomatoes and salt in a large bowl and allow to stand for at least an hour or up to 2 hours while the tomatoes release their juices.
- Heat the oil in a frypan and gently fry the anchovies, garlic, capers and chilli flakes for about a minute to soften, taking care not to brown the garlic. Mix into the tomatoes along with the vinegar and pepper.
- Just before serving, add all remaining ingredients - including the croutons - and toss gently to combine.
