August is high season for tomatoes so the journey of cooking with tomatoes continues!

Most of the time, I find myself making Italian dishes, which perhaps isn’t so strange as tomatoes are the reigning queen of the Italian table. While not indigenous to Italy, it’s hard to imagine Italian food without this lovely fruit today.

Why this fascination with Italian cuisine?

I often say I think I was Italian in a previous life. Italy was the first country I moved to after leaving my native country of Norway and it was there I first fell in love with the culture, the food, wine, people and places.

The cuisine of Tuscany is particularly attractive to me, where the approach is based on the love for wine, bread, and olive oil. and it’s also rich in vegetables. Simple yet refined. Perfect for those who follow a plant-based diet!

Panzanella, or panmolle, is a classic Tuscan (and Umbrian) summer salad based on stale, day-old bread, tomatoes and basil with a simple dressing of olive oil and red wine vinegar. It’s the perfect dish to showcase the gorgeous heirloom tomatoes that are available this time of year, requiring few ingredients and is quick to put together.

Fun fact: Technically, panzanella actually pre-dates tomatoes. There is a recipe for a bread salad dating back to the 14th century that contained bread, onions, purslane and cucumbers. Tomatoes first arrived from South America to Europe in 1548, and only became widespread in Italian cuisine a couple of hundred years after that!

Panzanella was created out of necessity as a way to use leftover bread and vegetables. The bread was soaked in water to make it soft. This is how I choose to prepare the bread too as it’s the most authentic. Many American recipes call for toasting the bread to make it crispy again, but the bread should be chewy—not soggy or crispy.

I highly suggest making your own country loaf for this recipe—I have a super simple, no-knead recipe on my blog here that I used and think is perfect.

Note that true Tuscan bread contains no salt, but I personally enjoy a little salt in my loaf 🙂

There is something so enticing about “Cucina povera” – the kitchen of the poor – the art of making do with what you’ve got and transforming humble ingredients into delicious dishes.

It reminds me a lot of how the people of my own country Norway, used to cook with the limited resources they had. I think we could all learn from our ancestors how to use every leftover ingredient. There is too much waste today and showing respect for food starts with learning creative ways to cook with what is available.

Wine Pairing Recommendation

The perfect wine for a panzanella in my mind is a crispy, medium-bodied Vermentino. I chose to pair my panzanella with the 2019 Punta Crena Vigneto Ca da Rena Pigato from the Ligurian coast of Italy. Pigato is a biotype of Vermentino, although many Ligurian winemakers insist that it’s different from Vermentino. But that discussion is for another blog post.

The Ca da Rena is an incredible example of Pigato, slightly richer and more textural than traditional Pigato wines I’ve had in the past. It made for a perfect partner with the salad. Crisp and mineral it complemented the acidity in the tomatoes and vinaigrette beautifully, and the citrus and nectarine flavors of the wine brought out the basil in a very appetizing way.

If you’re in the mood for a red wine, I suggest the 2016 Bucciarelli Chianti Classico made with organically farmed Sangiovese grapes in Castellina. It has classic aromas of cedar and violet with red cherry and earthy flavors and firm tannins and acidity that is a wonderful pairing with the tomatoes. Tomatoes and Sangiovese is in my top 2 flavor combinations ever so you can’t go wrong with a Tuscan Sangiovese here.

Whether you choose a red or a white wine, make it Italian to bring the authentic flavor home!

Use your best olive oil for this salad and the juiciest tomatoes you can find!

PANZANELLA SALAD

Serves 6

1 x 1 lb country loaf (about 6 cups), stale and cut into cubes
2 cucumbers, seeded, halved and diced
5 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch of fresh basil, torn

For the dressing:
¼ cup (70ml) red wine vinegar
½ cup (1.25 dl) extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Salt, pepper to taste

Place the bread in a bowl, add water to cover completely and soak for about 5 minutes.
Drain the bread pieces and squeeze out all excess moisture using your hands. Add the bread into a big salad bowl, add the diced tomatoes, onions, cucumber and basil and toss together.

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the salad and toss well. Serve immediately at room temperature.

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