Panzanella

AuthorMichael
DifficultyBeginner

Panzanella was once a "poor man's dish", but has recently become very popular world wide. Using day old bread and whatever you have in the fridge, you can make your very own recipe, but this is our favorite.

[cooked-sharing]

Yields12 Servings
Prep Time30 minsTotal Time30 mins
Panzanella Ingredients
 1 Loaf of Italian Bread
 2 Carrots
 1 Large Onion
 2 Celery Sticks
 1 Cucumber
 5 Large Ripe Tomatoes
 Olive Oil
 Salt
 Pepper
 Italian Parsley
 Basil
 2 Hard Boiled Eggs
 15 ml Red Pepper Sauce
 Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
 30 g Mayonnaise
 1 Head of Butter Lettuce (optional)
Homemade Mayonnaise Ingredients
 1 Fresh Yolk
 10 ml Fresh Squeezed lemon Juice
 250 ml Olive Oil
Panzanella Directions
1

Cut bread into 3 inch pieces. Put in a large bowl and cover with water.

2

Hard boil the eggs

3

When bread is saturated, pour off any remaining water and squeeze all the water from the bread pieces, handful by handful until all the water is squeezed out and the bread is just damp

4

Place damp bread in a large bowl

5

Chop all the vegetables(carrots, celery, onion, cucumbers,tomatoes) into ½ inch pieces and add them to the bowl with the damp bread.

6

Chop the basil and parsley and add to the bowl.

7

Cut each hard boiled egg into about 8 pieces. Add to bowl.

8

Make the mayonnaise (see recipe below)

9

Add salt, black pepper, olive oil, red pepper sauce and mayonnaise to the bowl.

10

Stir until all ingredients are evenly moistened and well blended.

11

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Then stir again, taste and adjust seasonings as needed

12

Gently separate the leaves from the butter lettuce. Wash and dry them.

13

To serve, place a scoopful of the panzanella into a butter lettuce leaf or a bowl. Drizzle with Balsamic reduction.

Homemade Mayonnaise Directions
14

In a glass bowl, whisk the egg yolk, add half the lemon juice.

15

Continue whisking vigorously

16

Add a few drops of oil, whisking continuously, until the mixture begins to thicken and become a little lighter in color.

17

At this point, continue whisking as you slowly drizzle in ½ the olive oil.

18

Add remaining lemon juice, then continue adding remaining olive oil, always whisking till all ingredients are combined.

19

NOTE: The amount of olive oil needed is determined by how thick or thin you want the mayonnaise. Panzanella calls for a thin, pourable mayonnaise.

Ingredients

Panzanella Ingredients
 1 Loaf of Italian Bread
 2 Carrots
 1 Large Onion
 2 Celery Sticks
 1 Cucumber
 5 Large Ripe Tomatoes
 Olive Oil
 Salt
 Pepper
 Italian Parsley
 Basil
 2 Hard Boiled Eggs
 15 ml Red Pepper Sauce
 Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
 30 g Mayonnaise
 1 Head of Butter Lettuce (optional)
Homemade Mayonnaise Ingredients
 1 Fresh Yolk
 10 ml Fresh Squeezed lemon Juice
 250 ml Olive Oil

Directions

Panzanella Directions
1

Cut bread into 3 inch pieces. Put in a large bowl and cover with water.

2

Hard boil the eggs

3

When bread is saturated, pour off any remaining water and squeeze all the water from the bread pieces, handful by handful until all the water is squeezed out and the bread is just damp

4

Place damp bread in a large bowl

5

Chop all the vegetables(carrots, celery, onion, cucumbers,tomatoes) into ½ inch pieces and add them to the bowl with the damp bread.

6

Chop the basil and parsley and add to the bowl.

7

Cut each hard boiled egg into about 8 pieces. Add to bowl.

8

Make the mayonnaise (see recipe below)

9

Add salt, black pepper, olive oil, red pepper sauce and mayonnaise to the bowl.

10

Stir until all ingredients are evenly moistened and well blended.

11

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Then stir again, taste and adjust seasonings as needed

12

Gently separate the leaves from the butter lettuce. Wash and dry them.

13

To serve, place a scoopful of the panzanella into a butter lettuce leaf or a bowl. Drizzle with Balsamic reduction.

Homemade Mayonnaise Directions
14

In a glass bowl, whisk the egg yolk, add half the lemon juice.

15

Continue whisking vigorously

16

Add a few drops of oil, whisking continuously, until the mixture begins to thicken and become a little lighter in color.

17

At this point, continue whisking as you slowly drizzle in ½ the olive oil.

18

Add remaining lemon juice, then continue adding remaining olive oil, always whisking till all ingredients are combined.

19

NOTE: The amount of olive oil needed is determined by how thick or thin you want the mayonnaise. Panzanella calls for a thin, pourable mayonnaise.

Panzanella