Hot summer days are back and we would like eating something which is light and healthy.
Today I am posting Tuscan Bread Salad Recipe or Itlalian Panzanella Salad Recipe which is prepared using bread, tomato, cucumber, onion, basil leaves, olive oil and red wine vinegar which is a cool salad for hot summer days. This salad is a good method of using up leftover or slightly stale bread. The original salad is typically made with salt less bread found throughout Tuscany (Central Italy). Panzanella (Tuscan salad of bread) is also popular in other parts of Italy.
Let’s go thru the process of preparing Tuscan Bread Salad:
Ingredients:
Bread (one day old) 1 loaf
Tomatoes 4
Cucumber 1 cup
Onion 1
Basil leaves ½ cup
Dressing:
Olive oil 4 tbsp
Red wine vinegar 1 tbsp
Sugar a pinch
Pepper powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Procedure for preparing Tuscan Bread Salad:
- Cut bread into 1 ½ inch square pieces without removing the crust so that it makes the salad crunchy.
- Chop 2 tomatoes into fine pieces.
- Chop cucumber into small square pieces.
- Chop onions finely.
- Tear the basil leaves with hands.
- In a big plate arrange the bread pieces and sprinkle water over it. Transfer it to a large bowl.
- Add chopped cucumber, tomatoes, onions and ½ of basil leaves and toss well.
- Grind the remaining 2 tomatoes to a fine paste. In a bowl add the tomato paste, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper powder and mix well. Add this dressing mixture to the salad bowl and toss all the ingredients well. Taste for salt and pepper if required you can add little more. For garnishing add the remaining basil leaves.
- This salad gets better the longer the flavours are allowed to infuse. So, allow the salad to sit for 1 hour at room temperature to allow the flavours to meld and then serve.
Cool Tuscan Bread Salad is ready.
