Stale-Bread Tomato Panzanella

Panzanella is the proof that Italian cooks have been rescuing stale bread for centuries. The dish was invented specifically for bread that's too hard to eat fresh but too good to throw away. Soaked in tomato juices and good vinegar, it becomes something you'd choose over a salad made with fresh croutons.

This is a summer salad that works at its best with ripe tomatoes, which means it also works with tomatoes that are a day or two past their prime. The salting step, which seems fussy, is actually the most important thing here — it draws moisture out of the tomatoes that becomes the base of the dressing. Don't skip it.

The bread matters too, but not in the way you might think. Any crusty bread works: sourdough, ciabatta, a baguette from two days ago, the end of a country loaf that's gone rock hard. What you want is a crumb that can absorb liquid without dissolving into mush. Soft sandwich bread does not work. Everything else does.

What you need

• 3–4 cups stale crusty bread, torn into rough 1-inch pieces
• 4–5 ripe tomatoes (or equivalent cherry tomatoes), roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt for the tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Handful of fresh basil (or flat-leaf parsley if basil isn't around)
• Black pepper
• Optional additions: half a cucumber, sliced red onion, a few olives, capers, anchovies

How to make it

Step 1: Salt the tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes into rough pieces — irregular is fine — and put them in a large bowl. Add a generous teaspoon of salt and toss to coat. Set the bowl aside for at least fifteen minutes. By the end, there will be a pool of reddish liquid at the bottom of the bowl. This is the most flavorful thing in your kitchen right now.

Step 2: Prepare the bread. If the bread is genuinely hard and stale, just tear it into pieces. If it's only slightly stale, you can toast it in a dry pan or a 180°C (350°F) oven for eight to ten minutes to dry it out further. Either works. You want pieces that are dry enough to absorb liquid without immediately turning to paste.

Step 3: Make the dressing. Tilt the bowl of tomatoes and collect as much of the accumulated juice as you can. Whisk the red wine vinegar, olive oil, and minced garlic into that juice. Taste it. It should be sharp, savory, and deeply tomatoey. Adjust as needed.

Step 4: Combine and soak. Add the bread to the bowl of tomatoes. Pour the dressing over everything. Toss well so that every piece of bread gets coated. Now leave it alone for at least ten minutes. Fifteen is better. The bread softens as it absorbs the dressing and takes on the flavor of everything around it — this is the entire point of the dish.

Step 5: Add the fresh elements and taste. Tear the basil over the salad — never cut it with a knife, it bruises and turns black. Add any of the optional elements: cucumber for crunch, sliced red onion for sharpness, olives or capers for salt, anchovy fillets if you like them. Taste once more and add pepper generously. Adjust acid, salt, and oil until it tastes exactly right.

The right bread texture

You're aiming for bread that's saturated with dressing but still holds together — not crunchy, not falling apart. The edges of each piece should be soft; the very centers might still have a little chew. If yours is dissolving, either the bread wasn't stale enough or you let it soak too long. If it's still crunchy after fifteen minutes, press some pieces flat against the bottom of the bowl to help them absorb more.

What else goes in

The classic additions are cucumber and red onion. Beyond that: roasted red peppers, white beans (transforms this into a more substantial lunch), leftover grilled chicken torn into pieces, mozzarella torn over the top, or any pickled vegetable you have open in the fridge.

See also: Grown-up grilled cheese and tomato soup · Salsa verde from wilting herbs · NowCook pricing