Late Summer Panzanella Style Salad

Toasted bread, tomatoes, burrata, cucumbers, red onions, figs, avocado, and strawberries tossed with red wine vinegar and olive oil. This late summer panzanella style salad is soo delicious.

I thought I was ready to start on fall dishes, but then with all the tomatoes, figs, and strawberries available, I knew there were still a few late summer recipes that I wanted to share.

I can’t believe that in about a week, it’ll officially be fall! Time has gone by fast. The weather has been so odd lately in the Bay Area. We do get warmer weather in SF during September and October, but none of us expected record breaking heat waves or thunderstorms and humidity.

So I’ve been all about salads and dishes that require minimal cooking. Like this late summer panzanella style salad.

I love tomatoes so much right now. Cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, dry farmed early girl tomatoes. So much flavor. And they’re perfect for soups and salads.

If you find that you have an abundance of tomatoes waiting to be used, this is the perfect dish. The sweetness of the tomatoes, strawberries, and figs; the crunchiness of the toasted bread; the acidity of the red wine vinegar; all have a hand in making this salad so unique, so delicious.

Have you ever had panzanella salad before? It’s mainly composed of stale bread, tomatoes, olive oil, and vinegar. But as usual, you can always customize the dish with the ingredients you have on hand or ingredients you love.

In this case, I added strawberries and figs, red onions, basil, cucumber, avocado, and burrata. I’m pretty sure I can eat this every day. And maybe mix up the ingredients just a little to keep it fresh.

Preheat the oven to 425F. If you have a toaster oven, that might be more convenient to use. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside for now.

In a small bowl, toss together the bread, olive oil, salt, and pepper until the bread is mostly covered in olive oil. The olive oil helps the bread brown better.

Place the bread on the baking sheet in a single layer, and toast for about 10 minutes until the bread is browned. Remove the bread from the oven, and set aside for now.

In a large mixing bowl, add early girl tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, figs, red onions, sliced cucumber, and basil. Drizzle olive oil and red wine vinegar over the salad. Toss until well incorporated.

Add the toasted bread, and gently toss to combine.

When ready to serve, add the avocado and burrata. You want to add it last since the avocado and burrata can become smashed if tossed. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and add more to taste.

Serve the late summer panzanella salad immediately. The longer you wait to serve the salad, the soggier the bread will become.

Enjoy!

Late Summer Panzanella Style Salad

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Toasted bread, tomatoes, burrata, cucumbers, onions, figs, avocado, and strawberries tossed with red wine vinegar and olive oil. This late summer panzanella style salad is soo delicious.

Author: Andrea Giang

Recipe type: Salad

Serves: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

Toasted bread

• 2 cups cubed stale bread
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Salad

• 3-4 early girl tomatoes or 1 large heirloom tomato
• ½ cup heirloom cherry tomatoes
• 4-5 large strawberries, sliced
• 2-3 figs, quartered
• ½ small red onion, sliced
• 1 small Persian cucumber, sliced
• ¼ cup basil, roughly torn
• 1 ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 1 small avocado, sliced
• 8 ounce burrata

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside for now.
2. In a small bowl, toss together the bread, olive oil, salt, and pepper until the bread is mostly covered in olive oil. The olive oil helps the bread brown better.
3. Place the bread on the baking sheet in a single layer, and toast for about 10 minutes until the bread is browned. Remove the bread from the oven, and set aside for now.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add early girl tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, figs, red onions, sliced cucumber, and basil. Drizzle olive oil and red wine vinegar over the salad. Toss until well incorporated.
5. Add the toasted bread, and gently toss to combine.
6. When ready to serve, add the avocado and burrata. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and add more to taste.
7. Serve the late summer panzanella salad immediately.

Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

3.5.3226