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Panzanella

Panzanella is an Italian salad consisting of soaked stale bread, onions, and tomatoes. This panzanella salad is the perfect summer salad! It’s super easy to make, vibrant, fresh, and light. I’m sure you will love it as much as we do around here.  Inspired by veganheaven.org.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 317
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1  ciabbata or rustic bread  (about 10 cups)
  • 5  tomatoes roughly chopped
  • 1/2  cucumber roughly chopped
  • 1  red bell pepper  roughly chopped
  • 1  yellow bell pepper roughly chopped
  • 1  red onion cut into strips
  • 1/4 cup capers
  • 1/2  cup  olive oil
  • 1/4  cup  red wine vinegar
  • 1/2  teaspoon  Dijon mustard
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1/2  cup  fresh basil leaves

Method
 

  1. Usually panzanella calls for stale bread. If you don't have it, you can also bake it in the oven for 15 minutes like I did. Preheat your oven to 350 °F. Cut the ciabatta into cubes and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes. 
  2. Roughly chop the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and the red onion. Place everything in a large bowl. Rinse the capers and add them to the vegetables. 
  3. Make the dressing. Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and stir well. 
  4. Add the roasted ciabatta and the dressing and stir. Let it sit for about an hour before serving it. Tear the basil leaves and add them to the salad just before serving it. 

Notes

  • Don't place the salad in the fridge before serving it because this causes the tomatoes to lose a bit of their flavor. 
  • Make sure to let the salad sit for about an hour before serving it. You could also let it sit for up to 3 hours. 
  • I recommend eating the salad on the same day it's made. Leftovers will keep a few days in the fridge, but the bread will get too soggy and the tomatoes will lose their flavors. 
  • Concerning the bread, you have two options. You can either roast it in the oven like I did or you could leave it uncovered overnight to harden and stale. 
  • I used store-bought ciabatta bread, but if you want you could also make  your own ciabatta.