DIY KITCHEN: Panzanella

A taste of summer

Not only is this Tuscan dish a refreshing and healthy summer salad, it’s also a great way to use up stale bread. I make it on holiday in France to use up semi-antiquated baguette. And like the best recipes, you can play with what’s in it. Pretty perfect for a BBQ and totally easy to make.

Ingredients
200g stale bread (ideally ciabatta or French stick)
500g ripe tomatoes (mixed varieties if you can), roughly chopped
250g peppers (variety of colours), roughly chopped
1 red onion, finely sliced
8-10 anchovy fillets (tinned in olive oil), chopped/sliced
6 radishes thinly sliced
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Sea salt & black pepper (freshly ground to taste)

Method
Tear your bread into 2-3cm chunks (stale is fine, it’ll soak up the juices)
Place tomatoes, onion, peppers, bread and anchovies in a bowl
Add red wine vinegar and olive oil – up to you for amount but a 1-3 ratio of vinegar to oil
Toss vigorously
Sprinkle with the torn basil leaves
Season to taste (remember you will get a salt hit from the anchovies) and serve

Pimp it?
Augment with anything from tuna to mozzarella (above) to boiled eggs.