On the menu today: The panzanella
La Panzanella is a Tuscan bread salad
#LebensfreudeChiantiClassico
In one of my last posts in the #LebensfreudeChiantiClassico blog series, I introduced you to my recipe variations of salt-free Pane Toscano. This special bread also forms the basis for the recipe I would like to present to you today: for panzanella - the bread salad from Tuscany.
"Bread in a bowl" - a traditional Tuscan recipe
Anyone who has ever been to Chianti in summer is probably familiar with panzanella: the delicious bread salad that can be an ideal, fresh lunch dish, especially on hot summer days. Panzanella has its origins in Tuscany. Not in Panzano, as one might assume from the similar sound, but in earlier times. The name of the dish is made up of the word "pane" - meaning bread - and the old Tuscan word "zanella", which means small basket or bowl. In short: panzanella is bread in a bowl.
The bread is, of course, the well-known Pane Toscano - preferably one or two days old. Because instead of throwing away stale bread, people in Tuscany were already looking for a way to reuse bread, a precious foodstuff that was hard work to make. And with bread salad, they found a wonderful way to conjure up a delicious dish from stale bread! We know this all too well from our latitudes with stale bread rolls, which are processed into breadcrumbs or dumpling bread - and then further processed into fluffy dumplings and crispy breadcrumbs. Reusing instead of throwing away - an idea that I think fits in quite well with our times.
The "right" ingredients & tricks for preparation
Opinions differ as to what exactly goes into a panzanella: one group swears by bread, red onion, tomatoes and basil - that's it! The other side believes that cucumber is a must! I think everyone should decide according to their own taste. The only important thing - as always when cooking - is to make sure the ingredients are of the best quality: Anyone who has ever bitten into a tomato ripened in the Tuscan summer sun or smelled the scent of basil freshly plucked from the bush will know what I mean. This also applies to the marinade, which consists of red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and, of course, only the best olive oil.
And although panzanella doesn't come from Panzano, some time ago I was allowed to prepare bread salad with Mimmo, the chef and owner of Enoteca Baldi on the piazza in Panzano, and learned a few tricks from him.