Quick Lemony Panzanella Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S PANZANELLA

Steps:

• Pour bread into a large skillet and drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, working in batches if necessary. Cook and stir bread over medium heat, adding more oil as needed, until bread cubes are golden and crispy on the outside, 7 to 12 minutes.
• Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top of the bread cubes; cook and stir until cheese is melted onto bread, and bread is crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside, 3 to 4 minutes more. Cool completely.
• Combine tomatoes, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, sugar, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl until well-mixed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until flavors combine, about 20 minutes.
• Toss basil into tomato mixture; add bread cubes and stir. Let salad sit at room temperature 3 to 4 minutes; if the liquid is completely absorbed, add more vinegar and extra virgin olive oil to taste. Season with salt and black pepper.

PANZANELLA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, yellow pepper, parsley, and basil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt, ground black pepper, and garlic. Pour lemon juice mixture over the tomato mixture, and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, or until toasted and dry.
• Toss bread cubes with tomato mixture, and serve.

QUICK LEMONY PANZANELLA

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over both sides of the focaccia. Place on a grill pan or directly on the grill grate. Toast until nicely browned, flipping as needed, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, olives, banana peppers, basil, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper in a nonreactive bowl. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard; stir until combined.
• Remove focaccia from the grill and rub 1 side of each slice with garlic. Tear slices into bite-sized pieces. Add to the vegetables and stir to coat. Serve at room temperature.

BLT PANZANELLA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4. Put the bacon in a shallow baking tray in a single layer and bake for 15 mins, turning halfway through until just starting to crisp up. Add the bread pieces and 1 tbsp of the olive oil, season with black pepper and toss everything together. Bake for 10 mins more until the bread is lightly toasted and the bacon crisp, tossing again halfway through. Leave to cool, then chop the bacon into rough pieces.
• Tip the tomatoes in a colander set in the sink, sprinkle over 1 tsp sea salt and leave for 15 mins.
• Whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, shallot, capers, lemon zest and juice, honey and basil together in a small bowl and lightly season. Pour half the dressing into a large bowl and whisk in the remaining oil and 1 tbsp water. Tip in the rocket, drained tomatoes, bacon and croutons and toss to combine.
• Pile the panzanella onto a large serving platter and scatter over the extra basil leaves. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side.