Editors' Pick
Heirloom Tomato Panzanella
photo by Jonathan Melendez
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 17
- Serves:
-
12
ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small French bread, cut into slices
- kosher salt
- 2 heirloom tomatoes, cut in wedges
- 1 pint red pear tomatoes or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1⁄2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
- 20 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons capers, drained
-
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
- 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
- 1⁄2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1⁄2 cup olive oil
- 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
directions
- Heat a stove-top grill. Brush the bread with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and grill for 10 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. If you don't have a stove-top grill, heat the oil in a large sauté pan, add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.
- For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Toss with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Season liberally with salt and pepper and arrange the vegetables artfully on a platter. Drizzle the bread with extra vinaigrette or olive oil and add to the platter.
- Serve immediately, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.
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Reviews
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This is one of our favorite summer meals. You can add just about anything to this...olives, artichoke hearts, scallions, etc. I sometimes toss cubed (bite-size) sourdough with high grade olive oil and S&P, then toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Allowing this to sit for 20-30 minutes really makes a difference!
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Stayed fairly true to the original, but made a couple of changes: used more varieties of heirloom tomatoes, used whatever color bell peppers I had, grilled the bread on the BBQ grill for less time instead of on the stovetop, omitted the capers, and finished the whole dish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Excellent combination of flavor, and love the added texture of the crispy bread, which doesn't dissolve under the vinaigrette, thankfully. Will probably make this again.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
MsPia
Louisville
I'm lucky to have had two amazing grandmothers with a passion for cooking.My Nona was from the north of Italy and Lolo was from Spain. Lolo used to make pickle fish. You would think that is a kids worst nightmare, but it was fabulous. I would kill for that recipe.My mother was also a wonderful cook. I grew up eating the most amazing food; her lasagna and Bolognese sauce are out of this world.
I am originally from Argentina and living in Colorado for the past 25 years. As you can imagine, I love to cook, eat and entertain. I read cookbooks like novels.
There is nothing that I enjoy more than traveling. I love the challenge of a new culture and a foreign language. Of course all my traveling is culinary oriented. Eventually I would love to move to Italy. Italians, in my opinion, have the perfect life style; Hard work in the morning, good food for lunch, nice siesta and out for a "giro" (go for a round) in the afternoons to visit with your friends over a cup of coffee.
My daughter is a great baker; she has a natural talent for it. We can make the exact same recipe and hers ALWAYS tastes much better.
My favorite products are seasonal, organic and fresh; I stay away from cans and pre-mixed stuff. I'm a proud member of the Slow Food movement. www.slowfood.com