Bring the meal of Panzanella to your next family outing this summer.
This meal is from the hills of Tuscany. Panzanella is the perfect dish to serve in the summer. Moreover, it is easy to make, a good addition to any table.
Food at the core of Italia
Particularly tucked away into central Italy, Tuscany is a well-known region. Florence, Sienna and Lucca are a few cities that are in the area.
The gorgeous landscapes, history and culture draw in people from all over every year. Many come for a taste of the delicious Tuscan dishes. Generally, many countries including Italy, see food as a foundation of life.
Likewise some more well known foods include bomboloni or Cacciucco. Just make sure you never ask to have cheese on top of your seafood.
Preparing History
Similarly, an article in Foodicles magazine helped break down the origin of the food. “Pane” is an Italian word that means bread, and “zanella” is a large plate or soup bowl.
Moreover, the meal goes back to Tuscany’s working class in the 1500s. The bread bits gave people energy to work, and was a way to not create waste. For a while, onions made up a large portion of the serving.
What you Need
Later in the 20th century, tomatoes were added in. Now, fresh vegetables from the garden with bread create a delightful salad.
To summarize, you will need to have these ingredients on hand.
- Dried bread to soak up oil. Food & Wine states that stale bread is best, and tasteatlas recommends pan sciocco.
- Vinegar and olive oil.
- Tomatoes, onions and basil. No dish is the same so feel free to change it up. Whatever you have on hand always adds extra flavor.
- Salt and black pepper.
Additionally you could add cucumber. As the dish circulates around the world it has become increasingly popular.
Tasteatlas provides an easy recipe to follow, but Ina Garten also makes the meal well.
- Slice tomatoes, onions, cucumber, and your choice of extra veggies into a bowl.
- Soak the bread in cold water for a few minuets. You can add vinegar or olive oil for some extra flavor.
- Once it is done soaking for a few minuets, squeeze out the water from the bread and tear off pieces into the bowl.
- Pour at least 3 tablespoons of good olive oil and vinegar on top of the veggies. Mix bowl well.
- Add some fresh basil to taste and season with pepper & salt.
Enjoy!
