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Authentic Panzanella Recipe Alternate Text Tuscany, Italy

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We strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though

Introduction & history

A Tuscan summer salad, panzanella is a perfect way to make use of stale bread you have lying around and to use up in-season, ripe ingredients like tomatoes. To prepare, firm, rustic bread, traditionally pan sciocco, an unsalted Tuscan bread, is soaked in water, then torn into crumbles and mixed with tomatoes, basil, onion slices, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. However, unlike in Tuscany, in Marche, this salad is prepared similarly to a bruschetta, where slices of tomatoes are laid on top of bread slices and sprinkled with basil, salt, and pepper, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.

Cooking tips

  • bread

    The traditional choice is pan sciocco, an unsalted Tuscan bread, but other kinds of dense, rustic bread will also work if you’re in a pinch. The bread should be stale or dry and is soaked in water, so it rehydrates. Alternatively, if you’d like more flavor, so the bread doesn’t taste bland or stale, you can use vinegar or tomato juices instead.
  • method

    Red onion is most commonly used, and it is recommended to blanch it or soak it in water so it still sweet but doesn’t have the bite. The tomatoes can be salted before, and the collected juices whisked together with olive oil and vinegar to make a dressing for the salad.
  • variations

    Variations on the basic recipe include adding cucumber which is a very common practice, including charred peppers, hard-boiled eggs, tuna, artichokes, celery, capers, anchovies, and garlic.

Recipe variations

Italian Academy of Cuisine's Tuscan-style Panzanella

PREP 15min

READY IN 15min

4.6

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The recipe for this Tuscan-style panzanella starts with slices of stale home bread, generously soaked and crumbled, paired with not-too-ripe tomatoes, crisp red onions, optional cucumber, and fragrant basil. The bread is then soaked in all the exquisite juices and the olive oil, enhancing its flavor while refrigerating. Just before serving, a dash of salt, pepper, and a drizzle of wine vinegar are added, ensuring a splendid balance of taste. The recipe is courtesy of the Italian Academy of Cuisine. 

Ingredients

4 Servings

Tuscan-style Panzanella

400 g of stale home bread

3 tomates, not overly ripe

2 red onions

1 cucumber (optional)

1 bunch of basil

extra virgin olive oil

wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Preparation

1

Tuscan-style Panzanella

Step 1/5

Slice the bread, then soak it in cold water for a few minutes.

Step 2/5

Once well soaked, squeeze out as much water as possible, then crumble the bread.

Step 3/5

Put the bread in a bowl, then add the diced tomatoes, the sliced onions, the cucumber, if desired, and the basil leaves.

Step 4/5

Pour over with extra virgin olive oil and refrigerate for up to an hour.

Step 5/5

When ready to serve, season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of vinegar.

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