Panzanella Salad

A bright, summery Italian-style bread salad with juicy tomatoes, sweet cherries, creamy mozzarella, crisp golden sourdough and plenty of fresh basil. Finished with a simple red wine vinaigrette, it’s fresh, colourful and full of contrasting textures.

Serves: 4
Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the salad

• 4 cups day-old sourdough or ciabatta, cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups mixed cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
• 200g fresh mozzarella or bocconcini, torn
• ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the dressing

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp honey
• Pinch of sea salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper

Method

1. Toast the bread. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the bread cubes, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5–7 minutes, tossing regularly, until golden and crisp. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Make the dressing. Whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano and honey together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Build the salad. Add the tomatoes, cherries, red onion, mozzarella and toasted bread to a large serving bowl.
4. Dress and toss. Pour over the dressing and gently toss until everything is lightly coated.
5. Finish. Fold through the fresh basil and leave the salad to sit for 5–10 minutes before serving. This gives the bread just enough time to absorb the dressing while still keeping some crunch.

Optional finish: a drizzle of balsamic glaze or a little extra virgin olive oil just before serving works beautifully.