Perfect salad for when you have the best tomatoes

You already know that I love buying and cooking and eating local food. So when Clyde Valley Tomatoes were back at my local farmer’s market earlier this month, I knew we’d be eating tomatoes all week!

I wanted to make a salad which would showcase the varieties of tomatoes.

Spring haul from farmer’s market

On the drive home I thought of a salad I used to make many years ago: fattoush. And then another tomato and stale bread salad: panzanella. I hadn’t made either for years, and started hankering for that melding of flavours and textures. Yes, these tomatoes were destined to become one big dish of delicious salad. Served with cold meats for lunch.

Panzanella

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced and left in a bowl of ice cold salted water for an hour
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• a punnet or two of ripe tomatoes from Clyde Valley Tomatoes. Or perhaps about 8 medium tomatoes – if you’re using wee ones, feel free to double the quantities
• 200g stale(ish) sourdough bread
• 4 TBsp white wine vinegar
• 1 TBsp capers
• 2 anchovies, finely chopped
• 6 TBsp extra virgin olive oil
• small bunch of fresh basil

1. Cut the peppers into big flattish pieces and pop them under a grill skin side up so the skin blackens. Alternatively use a toasting fork (who has such a thing these days?) and burn the skin over a gas hob, or chuck them in a hot oven. Or use a blow torch. You’ll know how you like to do it. Once the skin is black, put the pieces of pepper into a bowl and cover with cling film for 20 minutes or so.
2. Cut the tomatoes into large chunks and place in a colander over a bowl. Sprinkle some salt over them and leave to drain while you prepare everything else
3. Cut (or tear) the bread into chunks, about the same size as your tomato chunks and put them into a salad bowl and drizzle with vinegar
4. Drain the onion and add it to the salad bowl
5. Add the capers
6. By now your peppers might be ready for peeling, so peel off the black skin, or as much of it as you can and cut the pieces of naked pepper into strips. Put them in the bowl
7. Press down on the tomatoes and squeeze out lots of juice, then put the tomato flesh into the salad bowl
8. Add the chopped anchovies and olive oil to the tomato juice and whisk
9. Add salt and pepper to taste
10. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Pick off some basil leaves and tear them onto the salad
11. Leave for 15 minutes or so at room temperature – or outside in the sunshine
12. Serve as one of those lunches where the table is covered with bowls and plates and ashets of this and that tasty treats.

Of course you could skimp some of the steps or tweak the recipe as you go:

• If you don’t soak the onion right at the beginning, it will taste too harsh (for my taste buds). You might prefer to use red onion, or spring onions
• Don’t bother pouring the vinegar over the bread. I think you’ll regret missing out that step though!
• Add garlic. In fact most recipes include garlic. I just forgot to add is when I made it and enjoyed the garlic-free breath, and how the other flavours all sung out at me
• Add cucumber, celery, chilli, crisp lettuce
• Omit the anchovies if you’re feeding vegetarians. Obviously!

Basically make this your own panzanella – so long as you have the very best tomatoes and some good quality bread, you’ll make something delicious.

No pictures though, we ate it too quickly!

Tags: Mediterranean, quick supper, recipe, salad, tomato glut, tomatoes, using up stale bread