Panzanella della Piazzale Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Author Notes

A panzanella is a bread salad, so don’t forget that. But we are using heirloom tomatoes here as well. And for the tomatoes I would go with a bright and colorful assortment; maybe yellow ones, purple ones, green ones. Whatever looks good to you. But do be mindful of the bread. It should be two to three days old (stale matters) for the proper texture. There is an Italian proverb about scooping up the crumbs of bread you’ve wasted with your eyelashes before you can be admitted to heaven. I think that was one of the provisions of SB 1070 that was tossed out by the Federal District Court over immigrant angels, legal or not. Recently I tasted a perfect panzanella in a local restaurant which reminded me of the fact that the bread (croutons) in the salad require just the right amount of toothiness. You are not feeding this to infants. - pierino —pierino

Test Kitchen Notes

Having only dabbled in unconventional panzanellas, I was eager to try a more authentic version and had a hunch pierino would deliver. I dared not deviate from the recipe – letting the bread sit on the counter for three days and harvesting the basil only moments before tossing, as instructed. The rustic Italian bread I used didn’t hold its crouton shape very well once it was tossed with the other ingredients, so the salad wasn’t pretty, but it was sublime. Each element, from the bitter greens to the bread (crumbs), was perfectly balanced to make the heirloom tomatoes shine. Grazie mille, piereno! - Midge —The Editors

What You'll Need

Ingredients

• 1 poundmixed heirloom tomatoes
  
• ¹/₂ pound cherry tomatoes, heirloom or not
  
• 2 cupsstale bread, crusts removed
  
• Cold water
  
• ¹/₄ cup red wine vinegar
  
• ¹/₂ cup fresh basil leaves
  
• 2 cups mixed microgreens, or whatever sharp flavored small greens you can assemble or forage for
  
• ¹/₂ cup olive oil
  
• Sea salt and pepper