Panzanella Salad with Grilled Asparagus

This panzanella salad with grilled peppers & asparagus is the ultimate showcase for late summer produce. A tangy dressing perfectly accents the fresh tomatoes, peppers and grilled asparagus. It’s a salad sturdy in textures and refreshing Italian flavours. Served warm or cold this rustic vegan salad belongs in your summer repertoire. There are endless variations on panzanella from Florence to Rome, but one constant is the hefty country bread.

What is Panzanella ??

Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan style bread salad that is popular throughout Italy. It is a fresh salad with chopped stale bread, plenty of ripe tomatoes, onions, vinegar, olive oil and fresh basil. The salad is soaked in a simple vinaigrette dressing that makes every bite mouthwatering and delicious.

With grilled peppers and asparagus, I have added my own touch to the classic Italian salad recipe giving a whole new twist, making it delectable and showcasing some beautiful late summer produce.

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Ingredients used in making Italian Panzanella Salad

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Stale bread works best and is less likely to become soggy from the dressing. Cubes of stale crusty bread rubbed with a clove of garlic and lightly brushed with olive oil and then baked until the edges are golden brown and crisp, and the centre firm and chewy works wonders, giving the salad the perfect texture.

The magic in this salad truly happens while your salad sits on the kitchen counter for a good 20 minutes. This is so that the toasted bread has a chance to absorb all that amazing dressing and give it the full flavour.

Helpful Tips and Tricks to Make Panzanella Salad with Grilled Asparagus:

• Use a stale rustic loaf of bread with a crunchy crust. You can use Tuscan country bread, baguette or rustic sourdough bread, but I actually prefer Ciabatta because of it’s dryer texture.
• If you do not like very soggy panzanella, then toast the bread in the oven first. Even though day-old bread hardens on its own, I like to cut it up into cubes, toss it in extra virgin olive oil, then toast it in the oven for a few minutes–just enough for the edges to get crusty, while the inside gets firm but remains chewy.
• Panzanella is the perfect opportunity to use ripe tomatoes that are rich with flavour. Colourful heirloom tomatoes, vine tomatoes, cherry tomatoes all work well with this salad. If you choose to use cherry tomatoes be sure to slice them in half as the juice of the tomatoes is an important part of the dressing.
• It is important that once you cut the tomatoes, sprinkle with little salt put them in a colander over your mixing bowl. Allow the tomatoes to release their juices in the bowl for a few minutes, then use the tomato juice to get your dressing going.
• Resting and letting the salad sit for 20-30 minutes is important as it gives it a good time for flavours to meld and the bread to soak up a good bit of the dressing before melting into the salad. 

If you enjoy this salad, make sure to check out some of our other Italian salads such as the peach, tomato and mozzarella salad or our pasta salad!

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Italian Panzanella Salad with Grilled Asparagus

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 15 Minutes 15 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 4 voted )

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Ingredients

For the Salad

• 1 small ciabatta or stale country-style bread, torn into bite size chunks (3-4 cups)
• 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 500 grams ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 orange pepper, or 3 small orange or yellow peppers
• 3 tbsp capers, washed and dried
• 15 spears asparagus, stalks trimmed
• ½ cup basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• Parmesan Shavings (optional)

For the Vinaigrette Dressing

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup reserve tomato juice from tomatoes
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tsp dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

method

1. Preheat the oven to 200° C.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread cubes with a large drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic and a generous pinch of sea salt. Toss to make sure the bread is well coated. Spread the bread cubes on a sheet pan and bake in heated oven for about 10 minutes or until golden (the edges should get crisp, while the bread gains some colour and crisp but remains still a bit chewy).
3. In the meantime, put the tomatoes in a strainer suspended over a bowl, sprinkle with a little salt and crush the tomatoes slightly with the back of a fork. Leave and let the tomato juice drain into the bowl.
4. Carefully hold the orange pepper using tongs and blacken over the flame of a hob , turning occasionally, until charred all over. It will take about 4-5 minutes if using small peppers like me, or 7-8 minutes for a large pepper. Put the pepper in a bowl (as shown above), cover with cling film and leave for 5 minutes to make the skin easier to peel.
5. Rub the blackened skin off the pepper, cut in half, remove the seeds and cut into bite size chunks.
6. Combine together the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a mason jar and shake well, until the mixture has emulsified.
7. In a large bowl add the toasted bread, onions, capers, basil leaves, tomatoes and peppers. Add the vinaigrette and mix it really well, taste and adjust the seasonings. Leave to stand for at least 20 minutes at room temperature to allow the flavours to mingle.
8. Meanwhile, heat a grill pan over high heat, brush the asparagus with a little oil and grill for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally until tender and charred.
9. Put the salad into one large serving bowl or divide the Panzanella among shallow serving bowl, then top with asparagus and Parmesan shaving (if using).

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you did, take a picture and tag me on Instagram at @poetryofspices!