Layered Panzanella Salad
Total Time
40 minutes
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Rating
5 out of 5 stars
(30)
Ingredients
8 servings
- 4 ounces ciabatta or crusty sourdough bread, preferably stale (¼th of a standard 1-pound loaf or 3 cups cubed)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano, plus extra for garnish
- 1 large clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 pound cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
- 1 pound additional tomatoes (smaller tomatoes are better), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 mini cucumbers or 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, optional (buy small mozzarella balls or tear a larger ball into bite-sized pieces)
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped fresh basil (about ½ ounce)
- 2 tablespoons (total) thinly sliced Kalamata olives and/or capers
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Preparation
Chef’s notes
Stale bread note:
If your bread is super soft inside and challenging to cut, bake it on the baking sheet dry for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, cube it, toss it in olive oil and bake as instructed.
Make it dairy free/vegan:
Simply omit the mozzarella or replace it with cooked chickpeas (as much as one 15-ounce can, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked).
Change it up:
If you hate olives and capers, leave them out. Add a diced bell pepper to the mix if you’d like some additional crispness. See above for how to use chickpeas instead of mozzarella.
Storage suggestions:
This salad does not keep particularly well for later because the croutons will continue to absorb dressing over time and turn to mush. If you plan on having leftovers, reserve the croutons for later.