PANZANELLA

Panzanella, I always think Panzanella sounds so much more romantic then “Bread and tomato Salad”

Everywhere in Italy from Florence down to Rome panzanella salad is the favourite choice; Anna del Conte writes evocatively of setting an earthenware pot of panzanella on a scrubbed table in the shade of a fig tree at her farmhouse in Chianti, and pulling up a flask of cool local wine from the well to wash it down.

….mm  paints a wonderful picture.  No fig tree!  no farmhouse! but Panzanella and Chianti I can do.

Ingredients

4 garlic cloves crushed

6 anchovy fillets

100 ml olive oil

500gr Tomatoes cut into 4cm chunks

100 g sour dough bread sliced, toasted and cut into 4cm chunks

1 lemon, zest and 2 tablespoon of juice

1 tablespoon capers

Small bunch of fresh basil finely chopped

1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

Method

Put the garlic, anchovy and the olive oil into a pan, addl a teaspoon salt. Place over a low heat. Cook gently for 10 minutes stirring occasionally, until the garlic softens

After 10 minutes remove from the heat and add the bread chunks. Toss the bread until well coated, then transfer the bread to a large bowl. Leave the anchovy and garlic in the pan.

Mix together the tomatoes, lemon zest, the juice, capers and the basil.

To serve add the tomato mixture to the bread bowl. Carefully toss. Drizzle over the anchovy and garlic oil. Finish off with chilli flakes.

Original recipe Simple Yotam Ottolenghi