The Sunny Kitchen - An Italian cook in Amsterdam: Culinary holiday - how to make panzanella (Tuscan bread salad)

Panzanella is the famous bread salad belonging to the rich Tuscan culinary tradition.
It's usually made with stale bread and fresh vegetables from the garden (in the rural areas of Tuscany like the one in which I'm now it seems like everybody's got an "orto", a vegetable garden full of tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers...), good extra vergine olive oil and a few more ingredients.
The reason why we use preferably old bread is because 1) it does not get all soggy and soft when sprinkled with the vinegar/tomato juice mixture and 2) you usually have some at home. :) The Toscani are masters at cooking with only what's available in the pantry and in the fridge.

We've been eating it during the lesson on the Tuscan cuisine. Lovely and fresh with its vinegary pungency, it is perfect for a warm summer day lunch. It fills you without making you feel heavy . :)
Here's my recipe. Buon appetito!

Panzanella del Valdarno

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

600 gr ripe tomatoes

3 garlic cloves

fresh basil

½ Tuscan bread, diced (preferably stale bread)

½ a big cucumber or 1 small one

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

50 gr. capers

80 gr. black olives, pitted

4 anchovy fillets in oil

olive oil extra vergine

1 dl wine vinegar

salt

black pepper

Cut a little cross (X) on the bottom of the tomatoes bring some water to the boil and dip the tomatoes in it for about 30 seconds. Take them out of the water and leave them to cool off a bit. Remove their skins, halve them and remove the seeds. Keep their juice, possibily without seeds, in a big bowl for the dressing. Cut the tomatoes in big chunks (about four parts per tomato). Here some very good step-to-step information on how to skin tomatoes.

Add the peeled and finely chopped garlic, half of the basil, the vinegar and 2 dl. of olive oil to the tomato juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the bread in chunks (not too big ones, about 1,5- 2 cm. each), put bread and tomatoes in the bowl, add the dressing, mix everything well and leave to rest for at least 15 minutes. If the bread is really stale it could need more juice to get softer. In this case add more olive oil and vinegar (but pay attention not to use too much vinegar or the salad will be too sour). Keep on tasting just to make sure.

Wash and peel the cucumber. Cut it in half, remove the seeds with a spoon and cut in thin slices. Add it to the tomatoes and bread.

Wash the peppers, cut them in halves and remove the green top and the seeds. Cut the peppers in thin strips and add them to the salad.

Halve the anchovies and the olives and add them to the salad together with the capers. Mix everything well and season with salt if necessary.

Leave the salad in the fridge to marinate for at least a couple of hours.

Serve cold during summer or at room temperature the rest of the year after garnishing with basil leaves.