My Delicious Blog

Panzanella with Zucchini & Basil

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Panzanella Salad

This week’s blog post is actually a re-post from May, 2018.  

It’s my birthday week and I’ve got a big platter of work projects, as well as, an overwhelming desire to play hooky from my kitchen!  So I decided to give renewed love to a dish that’s not only tasty, but also, perfect for times when you’ve got too many tomatoes and zucchini and are simply begging neighbors to take some off your hands.  Yes, be you in Florida or any northern climate, warmer temps mean gardens bursting at the seams, and cooking big batches of stuff, canning, or sharing, are your best options. . .

Enjoy this easy and delicious salad!

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I’m always on the hunt for new salad inspiration because, well, sometimes I get a little tired of standard options. . .

Luckily, this week I found inspiration while shopping at Jessica’s Organic Farm in Sarasota.  They offer lots of organic products that are either grown on site or provided by local suppliers like Blumenberry Farms, an organic farm in Sarasota that grows beautiful produce, like these awesome Sungold tomatoes:
Sungold Tomatoes
My eyes lit up when I spotted these tomatoes because they’re SO delicious — little golden orbs bursting with sweet juice and tomato-y flavor that, when in season, get quickly snatched up by adoring fans like me.
And since I had a day-old crusty bread at home, my salad revealed itself to be. . .Panzanella!  Panzanella is bread salad flavored with tasty add-ins, most importantly, tomatoes.
I don’t consider myself a food snob, but there are 2 ‘musts’ for this salad: 1) room temperature, ripe, fresh tomatoes and 2) rustic, crusty bread (the typical supermarket variety just won’t do).  Classic Panzanella, which originated in Tuscany, uses day-old bread, ripe tomatoes, red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt — a magical blend of succulent juices from tomatoes, the bite of tart vinegar and sweetness from olive oil, all soaking into dry bread, creating a delicious meal that’s perfect for summertime dining.
So, if you’re lucky to get your hands on beautiful tomatoes at your local farmer’s market or from your own garden when they seem to ripen at the same time, consider this salad.  My version includes fresh basil and rosemary from my garden, plus some zucchini I had in the fridge.  And rather than simply tossing in those bread chunks, I baked them with olive oil, fresh rosemary, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper to make them even tastier.
This is one of those salads that allows for lots of interpretation, based on what you have in your kitchen.  Consider tossing in roasted red pepper or eggplant, thinly-sliced cucumber or red onion, peppery arugula, fresh thyme vs. basil, crushed red pepper for spice, Cannellini beans, Parmesan shavings, or even capers.  But always, and I mean always, stick with the two main ingredients – good bread and good tomatoes 🙂
Panzanella with Basil
panzanella with zucchini and basil
Panzanella with Zucchini & Basil
 
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Lots of tasty herbs make this bread salad with fresh tomatoes and zucchini extra special.
Author:
Recipe type: Vegetable
Cuisine: Vegetable
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Bread
  • 2 Tb. unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 Tb. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tb. fresh rosemary, minced finely
  • ½ tsp. garlic powder
  • ½ tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 c. bread cubes/chunks (about 1” or larger) from crusty bread
  • 1 large zucchini, cut lengthwise and sliced thinly
  • 1+ pints small tomatoes, or 3-4 large, ripe tomatoes, stems removed, cut into large chunks
  • Large handful fresh basil, chopped or chiffonade
Balsamic Dressing
  • ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove, minced finely
  • 3 Tb. Balsamic vinegar
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • Pinch granulated sugar
  • ½ c. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, combine butter, olive oil, rosemary, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper and mix to combine; add bread chunks/cubes and mix to coat all pieces.
  3. Transfer bread to a rimmed baking sheet (be sure to scrape out all seasonings from bowl); bake 7-8 minutes then remove from oven and cool thoroughly.
  4. In a saute pan over medium heat, add a little olive oil and the zucchini; sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper and saute a few minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool thoroughly.
  5. Add Dressing ingredients to a lidded jar and shake to combine (or place ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together); set aside until ready to use.
  6. About 30 minutes before serving, add zucchini, tomatoes and basil to a large mixing bowl then add bread and mix gently.
  7. Pour about half the dressing into the bowl, stirring to combine. Taste and add a little more Dressing if needed (note: you may not need all the dressing - if so, just use it for another salad the next day).
  8. Allow the salad to sit about 30 minutes so flavors combine - the longer it sits, the better the flavor, especially in those bread chunks!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. I was thinking this morning “I wonder what Nicole is cooking up for the blog?” As I so look forward to it each Friday. Always a nice surprise and usually learn something new as I did today. Thanks for the great recipe and great writing!

  7. Gosh, thanks Joe! It’s a tasty salad, for sure. And you don’t even need to toast the bread like I did – it’s also quite delicious with just torn, day-old bread, ripe tomatoes and good olive oil and vinegar — classic 🙂

  9. I think you may have outdone yourself here Nicole. This looks like the perfect lunch, dinner… whatever for summer. I’m copying the ingredients to my phone as I type.

    Thanks!

    Joe

  10. This is such a delicious salad. The crunchy bread with the fresh tomatoes is a great combination.