Mamma Graziella delights us with this fresh recipe for this year spring.
Panzanella is a traditional and very popular spring dish of Tuscan peasant food, but is also found in other regions of Central Italy, such as Marche and Lazio.
Panzanella is usally made with stale bread and fresh vegetables, the recipe is very tasty, healthy and fresh. The original version requires the use of bread soaked in water, squeezed and crumbled by hand, then topped with tomatoes, onions, basil, olive oil, salt and vinegar.
In time, many other ingredients were added, and often families prepares their own version according to their taste.
Ingredients for 4 servings:
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Stale bread, 400 gr
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3 ripe tomatoes
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1 red onion
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1 cucumber
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Basil, a bunch
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Extra virgin olive oil
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Salt
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Pepper
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Vinegar
Procedure:
Put the bread to soak in water for several minutes, so that it soaks well. Then just got small amounts, and sbriciolalo strizzalo hands into a bowl. Add the tomatoes into wedges, cucumber slices, onion rings, chopped basil and season with his hands with oil, salt, pepper and vinegar to taste. You can rest in refrigerator for fifteen minutes and serve.
Depending on personal taste, you can also add to the basic ingredients capers, sweet green peppers, boiled eggs, tuna, anchovies and thus obtain a complete dish.
A bit of History:
A bit of history:
Bronzino, a Florentine painter who lived in the fifht century, devoted some verses to this dish:
Chi vuol trapassar sopra le stelle/en’tinga il pane e mangi a
tirapelle/un’insalata di cipolla
trita/colla porcellanetta e
citriuoli/vince ogni altro piacer
di questa vita/considerate un po’ s’aggiungessi bassilico e
ruchetta
He does not mention the tomatoes, because at the time were not used in cooking, but considered as an ornamental fruit.