Panzanella: A taste of Tuscany bringing summer flavours home

Fans of Southern cuisine might find it hard to resist salivating. Finding a dish that so captures the essence of the region's kitchen is tough. Moreover, you don't need to run all over Italian delicatessens looking for ingredients – most are probably already in your kitchen.

Panzanella is the quintessence of leftover cooking – all you need is some stale bread, a bit of onion, and a piece of tomato. This simple combination of ingredients will transport you mentally to sunny Tuscany. You'll love this dish from the first bite. I almost make it every day each summer, and I got the recipe from a friend in Italy.

Panzanella is a salad popular in Tuscany and Umbria, especially in summer. This dish is incredibly economical yet full of typical Southern flavours. It consists of stale bread, onion, and tomatoes, although sometimes cucumbers and basil are added. The whole thing is drizzled with olive oil and vinegar. If you're not a fan of the taste of onion, you can soak it in water with a bit of vinegar, such as wine vinegar, beforehand.

It's commonly believed that the name of the salad comes from the combination of the Italian words "pane," meaning "bread," and "zanella," meaning "deep plate," on which the dish is served. In modern versions of Panzanella, you can find various additions, such as lettuce, olives, mozzarella, white wine, capers, anchovies, celery, carrots, red wine, tuna, parsley, hard-boiled eggs, mint, bell peppers, lemon juice, or garlic. Italian traditionalists, however, do not recognise these ingredients, and the most classic version of panzanella was based only on onions.

Interestingly, specific bread is used for making panzanella. The traditional recipe allows only Tuscan bread, baked without salt, which is not highly valued outside Tuscany. However, in this dish, it works perfectly. It's best if it's stale or toasted and then soaked in water with a bit of wine vinegar in equal proportions.

Ingredients:

• 700 grams of tomatoes,
• 5 thick slices of stale or crisp baked sourdough bread,
• 1 red onion or shallot,
• 3 cloves of garlic,
• 50 millilitres of olive oil,
• 50 millilitres of water,
• 100 millilitres of red wine vinegar,
• a few basil leaves,
• salt and pepper.

Preparation:

1. Cut the tomatoes into medium-sized cubes and then place them in a sieve set over a bowl. Salt the tomatoes and set them aside for 15 minutes.
2. Cut the stale bread into chunky cubes. Dip each piece in a mixture of vinegar and water (50 millilitres of vinegar and 50 millilitres of water). If using fresh bread, also cut it into cubes, soak it in olive oil, and toast it in the oven until crispy.
3. Dice the onion. Chop the basil, and press the garlic through a garlic press.
4. Mix the water from the tomatoes with the olive oil and the remaining vinegar, adding the pressed garlic.
5. Mix the bread, tomatoes, and onion, add the chopped basil and sauce, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.