How To Make Layered Panzanella Salad
This panzanella salad is a flavorful Italian dish tossed with homemade croutons, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese dressed with simple vinaigrette.
Serves:
Ingredients
For Homemade Croutons:
- 4ozciabatta,or 3 cups cubed), or crusty sourdough bread, preferably stale, ¼th of a standard 1-lb loaf
- 2tbspextra-virgin olive oil
- ¼tspfine sea salt
For Vinaigrette:
- 2tbspextra-virgin olive oil
- 3tbspred wine vinegar
- ½tspdried oregano,plus extra for garnish
- 1clovegarlic,large
- ½tspfine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper,to taste
- ½small red onion,thinly sliced
For Salad:
- 1lbtomatoes,cherry or grape, halved or quartered if large
- 1lbadditional tomatoes,smaller tomatoes are better, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1small cucumber,(or 2 mini cucumbers), thinly sliced into rounds
- 8ozfresh mozzarella,small mozzarella balls or tear a larger ball into bite-sized pieces, optional
- ⅓cupfresh basil,(about ½ oz), roughly chopped
- 2tbspkalamata olives,and/or capers, thinly sliced
Instructions
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To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. If desired, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
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Slice the bread into 1-inch cubes (no larger) and place them on the baking sheet. Drizzle the cubes with olive oil, sprinkle them with the salt, and toss until thoroughly combined.
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Bake for about 7 to 10 minutes until deeply golden.
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Meanwhile, prepare the salad dressing. In a bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, garlic, salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Whisk until combined.
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Add the onion to mellow its flavor and lightly pickle it—first, cut the sliced onion down the middle to make the pieces more manageable.
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Then, stir the onions into the dressing. Place the bowl in the refrigerator while assembling the salad.
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To prepare the salad, transfer the prepared tomatoes to a large serving platter. Nestle about half of the croutons in between the tomatoes, and distribute the rest on top.
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Place the cucumber rounds and mozzarella all over the salad.
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Use a fork or hands to distribute the lightly pickled onions all over. Give the remaining dressing a stir and drizzle it over the salad.
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Sprinkle the basil and olives and/or capers on top, followed by a light sprinkling of extra black pepper and dried oregano. Ideally, let the salad marinate for 20 minutes (or up to 1 hour) before serving.
Nutrition
- Calories: 214.56kcal
- Fat: 14.09g
- Saturated Fat: 4.86g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 7.11g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.26g
- Carbohydrates: 14.06g
- Fiber: 2.20g
- Sugar: 3.96g
- Protein: 8.87g
- Cholesterol: 22.40mg
- Sodium: 462.82mg
- Calcium: 178.58mg
- Potassium: 360.61mg
- Iron: 1.17mg
- Vitamin A: 102.76µg
- Vitamin C: 16.83mg
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