a humble traditional dish

Panzanella is a recipe from the humble Tuscan tradition, easy to make and perfect to serve as a tasty main dish.

Tuscan panzanella is the demonstration of how a few simple ingredients can give life to a fantastic and incredibly dish inviting and delicious. This recipe is also called pansanella o breadcrumbs, and consists of a preparation based on stale bread and other ingredients, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and onion. If you want, you can also enrich it with other ingredients such as tuna and pitted black olives, but the recipe for panzanella is already tasty in its traditional preparation.

Notoriously it is known as a Tuscan recipe, but panzanella is disputed by various regions of central Italy, such asUmbria not Marche.

Panzanella can be an idea for an appetizer but also for a single dish: it is a dish that is eaten in all seasons but especially in summer, considering the freshness of all its ingredients.

How to make panzanella: the procedure

1. Start with the bread. First cut it into slices, then into cubes about 2-3 centimeters in size. Leave the rind on: in a good panzanella it is important that you feel the different crust under your teeth consistency of crumb and crust.
2. Put the bread cubes in a bowl, then add gradually the water and the vinegarstir and let the bread soften while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
3. Peel itthe red onion and cut it into thin slices, then pass to the tomatoes, washing them and cutting them into small pieces, not too small. Pour them into a bowl where you will add the previously chopped onion.
4. Peel the cucumber and cut into not too thin slices, add to the rest of the ingredients.
5. At this point squeeze the bread well and place it on a serving plate.
6. Then pour in the rest of the ingredients, mix, season with the oil, pepper and salt and a few chopped basil leaves.
7. Leave to flavor for a few minutes. You can serve immediately or leave to cool in the refrigerator before serving.

If you liked this dish Tuscan tradition, then you should definitely try the delicious too sweet panzanella!

Advice

– If you want to make the panzanella recipe but you don’t intend to consume it immediately, it is advisable add the tomatoes only before serving, so that they do not turn sour.

– It is not essential to have in the house of Tuscan breadHowever, it is good to prepare your panzanelle with stale bread. Unlike that of other regions, the “fool bread” crumbles almost resembles couscous.

– Don’t be fiscal with water to soften the bread, in fact depending on how hard the bread is you may need more or less liquid to soften it.

– Finally we want to give you a onion tip: if the flavor is too strong for you and you find it hard to digest it, try soaking it in water for 20-30 minutes after cutting it. It will be lighter and less indigestible.

storage

Keep the Tuscan panzanella in the refrigerator, closed in an airtight container, for a maximum of two days.

Panzanella: why is it called that?

There are two different hypotheses on the origin of the name panzanella. According to some, the derivation is that of bread and zanella. Zanella is a Tuscan dialect term that refers to a container, such as the one in which the recipe is prepared. According to others, however, the word panzana derives from dadexactly like pappa al pomodoro.

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