Panzanella is a tuscan tomato bread salad from the land of endless summer. If you like tomatoes and you like bread you owe it to yourself to try it at least once.

Where I live tomatoes are trucked for miles in winter. I think they’re tomatoes. That what the sign says. The taste says nothing. Nothing. Dust. In summer though, picked at the peak of ripeness from nearby farms the tomato is a magical thing. For me, it just screams summer and I work them into almost every meal for as long as they last.

I’ve lifted Judy Rodger’s bread technique from her fabulous Zuni chicken with bread salad. This extra step pushes it right over the top. Get some good crusty bread, slice it fairly thick, brush it liberally with olive oil and toast it under the broiler. There are two stars in panzanella – tomatoes and bread – so please use a nice open crumb sturdy white bread.

You can mix the bread in to soak up the tomato goodness or, if you want something a bit more formal (and to hit your guests over the head with how good the bread is) then dress the salad and top with the bread.

This dish gives you a good reason to break out that super high end olive oil you’ve been hoarding.

panzanellabread - 1 panzanellabread - 2 panzanella tuscan bread salad - 3

panzanella - tuscan tomato bread salad

Ingredients

For the bread

  • 10 oz good quality white bread sliced about one inch thick
  • olive oil

For the panzanella

  • 5 medium tomatoes seeded and diced
  • 1 english or field cucumber peeled and seeded
  • 1/2 medium red onion diced
  • 1/3 cup shredded basil plus more for garnish
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/3 cup olive oil the best you have
  • 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

Prep the bread

  • Slice the bread. Brush with olive oil until completely coated. Broil, rotating your cookie sheet regularly until golden brown. Flip the bread and repeat. Watch it constantly. It goes from golden brown to black in almost no time.
  • Let the bread cool and tear it into one inch pieces.

Make the panzanella

  • Seed and dice the tomatoes. Peel, seed and dice the cucumber. Combine tomatoes, cucumber, onion and basil into a bowl large enough to accommodate the bread as well. Season the tomato mixture with salt and pepper. Taste to see if you have it where you want it. Add more if needed.
  • Combine olive oil, garlic and red wine vinegar to make a simple dressing. Toss tomato mixture with dressing. Add the toasted bread and mix. Garnish with a bit more basil.
  • Or sprinkle the bread over the tomato mixture. Work it in a bit to get some dressing on it but keep the top dry. Enjoy and try not to think about the fact winter is coming.

Lemon thyme chicken. Some flavours just work together. You see them over and over. Nothing original here but it works. A bit of white wine and some crushed chili flakes round it out. Just tasty. This is a great place to use concentrated chicken stock if you have some on hand. If you don’t, consider it seriously…

There’s not a lot of sauce though. Just a spoonful per serving. Leaves you wanting more. Lemon thyme chicken is fast enough for a weeknight but flashy enough for the weekend.

lemon thyme chicken - 4

lemon thyme chicken

Ingredients

  • 4 large chicken thighs
  • 1/2 lemon sliced thinly plus 1/4 lemon, juiced
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red chilies
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup low or no sodium chicken stock
  • 2 Tbsp concentrated chicken stock if you have it - recipe link below
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat your over to 425F.
  • Rub the chicken thighs with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Pre-heat a sturdy frying pan to medium and film with a bit more olive oil.
  • Add the chicken, skin side down, and fry for about 10-12 minutes. Keep an eye on the temperature and adjust as necessary to keep it from smoking. You want to hear that frying sound the whole time. By the end, most of the fat from the skin will have rendered and you will be shallow frying the chicken.
  • Remove pan from heat, remove chicken and spoon off all but 1 Tbsp of fat. It’s just one Tbsp - it won’t kill you. Line the bottom of the pan with the lemon slices and return the chicken to the pan, again, skin side down.
  • Roast at 425 for about 8-10 minutes. You are going for an interim internal temperature of about 155-160F (you have an instant read thermometer right?). Flip the chicken and return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes or until you reach an internal temperature of 175F. This last step isn’t necessary but it helps bring back the crisp to the skin.
  • Remove chicken and now caramelized lemon slices. Heat pan over medium low heat and add the garlic and chili flakes. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the juice of 1/4 lemon and cook another 30 seconds or so.
  • Pour in the white wine and raise heat. Reduce to syrupy glaze. Now, add the chicken stock and thyme. Reduce by a bit less than half. If you have the concentrated chicken stock add it now.
  • Add any accumulated juices from the chicken, mix and adjust seasonings.