This BLT panzanella salad recipe is sweet and flavorful, that options tomatoes, cucumber, pancetta, capers, and arugula in a zesty French dressing.

All through {the summertime}, my yearning for tomatoes is quite a few. From the primary BLT sandwich of the season to caprese salad—I desire to rejoice these juicy crimson jewels. And identical to my basic Panzanella recipe and my peach panzanella salad with burrata and bacon, this BLT panzanella recipe tastes like pure summer time season. My BLT sandwich impressed it, nonetheless it actually’s nonetheless very Italian at coronary coronary coronary heart. Panzanella is a straightforward Tuscan-style bread salad tossed in a zippy vinegar-laced dressing. The tomatoes, vinegar, and capers present the briny pucker. Salty pancetta lends some smoky savoriness, and arugula brings some inexperienced and spicy bites. Plus, there’s crisp cucumber for some crunch. The entire thing mingles collectively to create a simple panzanella that’s updated, flavorful, and full of superior texture.

Why You’ll Love It

• It’s a lightweight and refreshing salad that goes with virtually any protein
• There are minimal steps and the recipe comes collectively quick
• This panzanella is nice versatile—make it as is or use what you’ll be able to have and make it your non-public!

What’s Panzanella?

Panzanella is a Tuscan bread salad relationship all the best way wherein by which as soon as extra to fourteenth centuryeven before the arrival of tomatoes in Italy! This easy peasant dish was a intelligent and resourceful methodology to revive earlier bread, by mixing it with uncooked veggies, spices, oil, and vinegar.

BLT Panzananella Substances Doc

• Tomatoes—I like utilizing a mixture of heirloom tomatoes (use one of the best top quality, freshest summer time season tomatoes it is potential you may get your fingers on)
• Cucumber—any alternative is okay, merely it is best to undoubtedly seed it (in one other case it ought to add an excessive amount of moisture to the salad and make it watery)
• Arugula—provides some inexperienced and a peppery chew
• Capers—I identical to the salty, briny pop these little berries add
• Pancetta—lends a salty, savory chew (you’ll be able to presumably furthermore use bacon)
• Garlic—this infuses our olive oil that we then toast our bread cubes in for the simplest type
• Crusty white bread—a boule or a baguette (no matter you employ, merely be sure that it’s day-old bread. A brisker bread is just too moist and gained’t have the facility to face as loads as a result of the French dressing.
• Olive oil—for toasting our bread cubes
• Champagne or crimson wine vinegar—I don’t advocate balsamic on account of it’s too darkish and your panzanella gained’t be as fairly
• Kosher salt and freshly flooring black pepper—frequently, for type

Uncover your complete recipe with measurements beneath.

Methods to Make This BLT Panzanella

• Mix the veggies. In an unlimited mixing bowl, mix tomatoes, cucumber, capers, basil, and arugula.
• Brown the pancetta. Put collectively dinner till golden brown and crispy, reserving 2 tablespoons of the rendered fats.
• Infuse the bread toasting oil. Smash the garlic cloves and place them contained in the frying pan with pancetta fats. Put collectively dinner for 3 minutes till the garlic is frivolously browned. Take away from pan and discard.
• Toast the bread. Add cubed bread to pancetta fats, combine, and frivolously toast. When toasted, add the bread and pancetta to the tomato combination.
• Make the French dressing, costume, and toss. Combine olive oil and vinegar till emulsified, add salt and pepper to kind then costume the salad, tossing efficiently to mix the entire thing. Serve instantly.

Recipe Substitutions and Variations

• Add some updated herbs like oregano, basil, mint, tarragon, parsley, or thyme
• Strive any type of juicy tomato, along with totally fully completely different cuts for a wide range of sizes and textures
• Strive uncooked zucchini or yellow squash contained in the salad (slice thinly with a mandolin or do extended, skinny, ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• Prime with huge slivers of Parmesan cheese
• Add fairly extra tang with sliced olives, shallots, or crimson onion
• Add crimson, inexperienced, or yellow bell pepper for added crunch

Recipe Concepts

• The mandatory issue ingredient that fashions this salad aside is day-old bread. That doesn’t point out stale, hard-as-a-rock bread. I desire to utilize thick slices of sourdough lower into 1-inch chunks so there’s further tender bready bits than ruin-the-roof-of-your-mouth objects of crust. One factor too updated could have an excessive amount of moisture and alter into soggy after mixing.
• Select any assortment of tomatoes so long as they’re at their sweetest. I like vine-ripened summer time season tomatoes, nonetheless campari or candy cherry tomatoes point out it is potential you may make this salad any time.
• Lower your bread and veggies all the an equivalent dimension—or as shut as you presumably can. That technique the bread doesn’t take over and dominate the chunks of cucumber and tomato.

Storage Concepts

Panzanella is largest eaten the day it’s made. Sadly, panzanella wouldn’t sustain efficiently the subsequent day and begins to deteriorate. The bread turns into too soggy a wide range of hours after it’s ready to eat. Everytime you’re attempting to save lots of numerous loads of time, you presumably can frequently prep your bread and make your dressing forward.

What to Eat with Panzanella

Everytime you make this recipe, please let me know! Depart a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ score on this recipe beneath and depart a remark, take {{a photograph}} and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.