Chef John's Panzanella

Name: Chef John's Panzanella
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 cups 1/2-inch stale bread cubes, or more to taste; 1/4 cup olive oil, or to taste; 1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or to taste; 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or more to taste; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste; 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, or to taste; 1 pinch white sugar; salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 4 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced, or more to taste

⏱️ Ready in 20 min 🥄 Prep 10 min 🔥 Cook 10 min 👥 2 servings 👁️ 30 views

The key to this panzanella is frying the bread cubes in loads of olive oil in a skillet, which obviously makes them crispy. But the healthful fat also soaks into the bread cubes and renders them semi-waterproof, or dressing-proof. The same goes for the dusting of Parmesan cheese applied halfway through the crisping process.

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🔗 Recipe adapted from AllRecipes

#Under 1 Hour #Under 30 Minutes

📊 At a Glance

Prep 10 min

Cook 10 min

Serves 2

Difficulty Medium

Nutrition Facts

Servings per recipe 2

Serving size 1 serving

Amount per serving

Calories 746

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 45.8g 59%

Saturated Fat 0g 0%

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 927mg 40%

Total Carbohydrate 68.4g 25%

Dietary Fiber 4.2g 15%

Total Sugars 3.3g

Protein 17.5g 35%

Vitamin D 0mcg 0%

Calcium 0mg 0%

Iron 0mg 0%

Potassium 0mg 0%

* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

👨‍🍳 Instructions

Pour bread into a large skillet and drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, working in batches if necessary.

Cook and stir bread over medium heat, adding more oil as needed, until bread cubes are golden and crispy on the outside, 7 to 12 minutes.

Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top of the bread cubes; cook and stir until cheese is melted onto bread, and bread is crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside, 3 to 4 minutes more.

Combine tomatoes, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, sugar, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl until well-mixed.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until flavors combine, about 20 minutes.

Toss basil into tomato mixture; add bread cubes and stir.

Let salad sit at room temperature 3 to 4 minutes; if the liquid is completely absorbed, add more vinegar and extra virgin olive oil to taste.

Season with salt and black pepper.