Neapolitan Tomato And Bread Salad Recipes

PANZANELLA (ITALIAN TOMATO AND BREAD SALAD)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C /350°F (160°C fan).
• Toss bread chunks with 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.
• Toast: Spread bread on a a tray and toast for about 15 minutes, until the outside is becoming golden and crunchy but the inside is still a little soft, like toast. Remove and leave to cool.
• Cut tomato into 8 wedges each. Cut some of these wedges into half (I like irregular shapes for this rustic salad).
• Sweat tomato with salt: Put tomatoes into a colander over a large bowl. Season with the salt, toss and set aside for 10 minutes to draw out the juices. RESERVE the tomato juice in the bowl for the dressing.
• Cut cucumber into any shaped chunks aroun 2.5cm / 1" pieces. Again, I like to do irregular but even-sized shapes.
• Toss veg: Place tomato sweating in colander into large bowl. Add cucumber and basil, toss gently.
• Tomato Dressing: Add Dressing ingredients into bowl holding the tomato juice, whisk well.
• Dress salad: Add bread to salad, pour over dressing. Give it a light toss.
• Rest then serve: Leave for 5 minutes to let the juices soak into the bread, tossing once or twice. Toss once more just before serving!

ITALIAN BREAD AND TOMATO SALAD

Steps:

• Cut bread into 1/2-inch thick slices, then break up or cut up into 1/2-inch cubes. Place into large serving bowl.
• Wash and trim tomatoes, and cut in quarters. Squeeze juice from tomatoes over the bread; then, dice the tomatoes in 1/2-inch cubes and stir into bread.
• Scrub and trim cucumber, and slice thinly. Cut slices into match-sticks, and add to bowl.
• Finely mince onion, and add. Drizzle oil and vinegar over ingredients, and mix well to moisten bread and meld ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

NEAPOLITAN TOMATO AND BREAD SALAD

Steps:

• 1 Break the freselle or bread into bite-size pieces and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup cool water or enough to slightly soften the bread. 2 Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and basil to the bowl. Drizzle with oil and vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss well. 3 Add the ice cubes to the salad and let stand 15 minutes. Toss again and taste for seasoning, adding more vinegar if needed. Serve immediately. VARIATION: You can make the Pugliese version of this salad, called cialedda. They use a round variety of cucumber (but use what is available), plus radishes, arugula, and celery. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.