Hairy Bikers Panzanella Salad Recipe

This Hairy Bikers panzanella salad from One Pot Wonders roasts torn ciabatta with garlic until golden, then tosses it with tomatoes, charred peppers and anchovies. And it serves four at around 250 calories with most of the 70 minutes being hands-off resting time.

Si and Dave say they “did a frugal version of this called cialledda” in their Mediterranean book, “but now we’ve fired up the throttles.” And that means this One Pot Wonders version is the bigger, bolder take with more going on in every bite.

The technique to get right here is salting the chopped tomatoes in a sieve over the serving bowl. Since those juices carry all the flavour, catching them means your bread soaks up concentrated tomato rather than just olive oil.

Hairy Bikers Panzanella Salad Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Italian Courses:Salad

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 25 minutesRest time: 30 minutesTotal time:1 hour 10 minutesServings:4 servingsCalories:250 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Si and Dave’s Italian bread salad from One Pot Wonders where ciabatta gets roasted with garlic, then tossed with salted tomatoes, charred peppers, anchovies, capers and olives before resting for at least 30 minutes.

Ingredients

For the Panzanella:

• 2 red peppers, halved
• 200g ciabatta or good sourdough, torn into chunks
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 300g ripe tomatoes
• 50g tin of anchovies
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp black olives, pitted and sliced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Bunch of basil
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Roast the peppers: Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6, then put the halved peppers in a roasting tin and roast for about 15 minutes until the skins have started to blacken. Transfer them to a plastic bag and leave to cool, since the steam loosens the skins.
2. Roast the bread: Put the torn ciabatta in the same roasting tin with the olive oil, crushed garlic and plenty of seasoning, then toss until coated. Roast for 10 minutes until the bread has crisped up and turned golden brown.
3. Soak the onion: While the peppers and bread are roasting, sprinkle the sliced red onion with salt and cover with cold water. Leave to stand for 30 minutes, then drain thoroughly before using.
4. Salt the tomatoes: Roughly chop the tomatoes and put them in a sieve set over your serving bowl. Sprinkle with plenty of salt and leave to drain so the juices collect in the bowl below.
5. Assemble: Finely chop the anchovies and add them with their oil to the bowl of tomato juice. Stir in the sherry vinegar, capers and olives, then add the roasted bread and mix thoroughly so it soaks up the dressing. Add the chopped tomatoes, drained onion, torn pepper strips, oregano and basil, then leave the salad to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.

FAQs

What is the difference between panzanella and cialledda?

Si and Dave have both in their cookbooks and explain the difference themselves. The cialledda in Mediterranean Adventure is the Puglian original where stale bread is just moistened with water and tossed raw with tomatoes, onion, olives and basil. And they call it “even more frugal” because there is no cooking at all.

This panzanella from One Pot Wonders is the Tuscan version where the bread gets roasted with garlic until crispy, and roasted peppers, anchovies, capers and sherry vinegar are added. If you want the fuller flavour go with this recipe, and save the cialledda for when you want something lighter with no oven involved.

Can I use fresh bread instead of stale?

Stale bread works better because it holds its shape when it soaks up the tomato juices and dressing. Fresh bread turns to mush faster, which means the texture disappears before the salad has finished resting.

If you only have fresh bread, tear it into chunks and roast it for a few extra minutes until properly dried out and golden. The oven does the same job as leaving bread out overnight, and Si and Dave roast theirs anyway in this version so fresh ciabatta works fine as long as you give it enough time in the tin.

Why soak the red onion in salted water?

It draws out the sulphur compounds that cause the sharp, bitter bite of raw onion. After 30 minutes in salted water the slices taste sweet and mild, which matters in a salad where everything sits together for another 30 minutes before serving.

Si and Dave use this technique in both their panzanella and their cialledda, and it shows up in several other salads across their books. If you skip it, the raw onion overpowers the tomato and basil, so the 30 minutes of soaking is worth the wait.

How long should panzanella rest before serving?

At least 30 minutes at room temperature, and Si and Dave are firm about this. The resting time lets the roasted bread soak up the tomato juice, anchovy oil and sherry vinegar, which transforms it from a collection of separate ingredients into a salad where every piece of bread carries flavour.

You can push it to an hour if you prefer softer bread, but beyond that the basil starts to darken and the bread loses all structure. Serve it at room temperature rather than cold from the fridge, since chilling dulls the tomato flavour.

What can I serve panzanella with?

This is a full light meal on its own, but for a bigger spread it works well next to the cottage pie or the macaroni cheese since the vinegary tomato dressing cuts through anything rich and cheesy.

If you are serving this as part of a summer buffet, prep the roasted bread and peppers ahead and keep the tomatoes salted in the sieve until guests arrive. Toss everything together 30 minutes before you want to eat so the bread has time to soak without going too soft.