This is not your traditional Tuscan
style panzanella salad with tomatoes and soaked stale bread. We made this salad
our own and decided to use peaches instead of tomatoes. When peaches are in
season they are so juicy and fragrant, dripping with flavor. They bring the
perfect sweet and tangy flavors to the salad that pairs so perfectly with the
freshly baked bread, red onions and white balsamic dressing.
Panzanella is essentially an Italian crouton salad where the crusty
bread cubes are slathered in olive oil and toasted, then tossed with
vinaigrette and whatever vegetables you like, typically fresh tomatoes dripping
with juice. The bread soaks in the juices, retaining some of its crispiness
against tender tomatoes, and a garlicky vinaigrette to elevate this simple
salad.
Sweet peaches make good tomato
stand-ins, and I pair them with fresh blueberries, red onions, fresh
mozzarella, salty salami, avocado and a garlic white balsamic olive oil
dressing.
I sautéed the peaches in a pan
with butter to soften the peal. The recipe makes enough for a light meal for
two or make this as a starter for four to six people.
Feel free to change up the
ingredients using what you have. Blueberries are not traditional at all, I just
love them in salads they add a pop of flavour when they burst in your mouth,
not to mention they are full of antioxidants.
This is not your traditional Tuscan style panzanella salad with tomatoes and soaked stale bread. We made this salad our own and decided to use peaches instead of tomatoes. When peaches are in season they are so juicy and fragrant, dripping with flavor. They bring the perfect sweet and tangy flavors to the salad that pairs so perfectly with the freshly baked bread, red onions and white balsamic dressing.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time35 minutesmins
Course: Salads
Servings: 4
Author: Natasha
Ingredients
3cupsof crusty white breadcubed
3peaches thinly sliced
Fresh lettuce such as romainered leaf or arugula
Fresh mozzarellaI used mini Boccochini balls or you can use fresh burrata
Fresh Blueberries
Handful of red onionthinly sliced
Handful of salamithinly sliced
1avocado sliced
Vinaigrette
½cupextra virgin olive oil
¼cupwhite balsamic vinegar
1tbsphoney
1shallotthinly sliced
2tspgrainy Dijon mustard
3clovesof garlicpressed
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F
In a large bowl, toss together the cubed bread, olive oil (enough to coat the bread, do not soak), generous amount of garlic powder, spread onto a baking shee
Bake for 15 minutes until they are crisp and dry, remove and set aside
While the croutons are baking, melt a scoop of butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the sliced peaches and cook until the skin has softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
To make the vinaigrette, add all ingredients to a jar fitted with a lid and shake well (dressing can be stored in refrigerator for 1 week)
To assemble salad, place torn lettuce, peaches, blueberries, salami, mozzarella, red onion and handful of toasted bread into a large bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette and fresh ground pepper, toss ingredients together until salad is perfectly coated with dressing.
Plate the salad onto serving plates, garnish with leftover bread cubes (I like to have some bread that is still nice and crunchy on my salad for texture) and avocado slices, serve