Farmers Market Panzanella
photography by Talitha Schroeder
Our panzanella recipe was inspired by Marcella Hazan’s “Bread and Vegetable Salad with Anchovies” from The Classic Italian Cookbook, first published in 1973. When she wrote the book, good country sourdough bread was hard to come by in most places, so she recommended frying firm white bread in olive oil until crisp and well-browned. We offer both options, along with a couple of twists.
Ingredients
3 or 4 slices of two- or three-day old sourdough
1 clove garlic
8 anchovy files packed in olive oil
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and well-drained
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar
½ sweet red or green pepper cored, seeded and cut into small dice
2 firm meaty tomatoes like Brandywine or Cherokee Purple peeled and cut into chunks
1 slicing cucumber peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 small banana pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
1 small red onion, sliced thinly and soaked in ice water for 15 minutes to sweeten
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
Remove crusts from bread and cut into one inch cubes. Soak in water until saturated, then squeeze out all excess moisture before adding to the salad. The total amount of bread can be adjusted according to appetite.
Grind garlic, anchovies, capers and salt to a paste with a mortar or pestle, in a small food processor, or with the flat edge of a chef’s knife.
Place mixture in a salad bowl and add the extra-virgin olive oil and vinegar. Mix well.
Add the bread, along with the tomatoes, cucumber, sweet pepper, banana pepper and red onion. Stir well and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
With fried sandwich bread –
Cut 4 slices firm white bread into cubes and fry in olive oil until well-browned.
Other variations: try olive bread or herbed focaccia. If using focaccia, toast it well after cutting into cubes for the best result.
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