Recipe: Strawberry Panzanella Salad

The good news is that said tasks can be done; they just take a little more time and patience (which, I’ll admit, I do not always possess).  Except for a half dozen boxes and the pictures that still need to be put up, I’ve made enough progress with it that it now looks more like a home than a warehouse.  That alone is reason enough to celebrate, so I finally had a small housewarming party over the weekend.

The celebration was twofold actually: I had my cute little apartment to show off and I had a sponsored dinner party to throw that night.  Since I’m the type that feels guilty not offering guests something on which to nibble no matter how casual the gathering, I figured this would be a great way to multitask: I’d have some awesome folks over and they’d eat like kings & queens!

I’ll be posting the recap of the dinner party later this week, but I just couldn’t wait to share the recipe to one of the dishes I whipped up for the occasion.  It’s fresh, seasonal, lovely to look at, and so friggin’ good I’ve had it for dinner three nights in a row.  And it brings out the cultural anthropologist in me.

Panzanella, an Italian bread salad popular in the summer, is one of those dishes that makes me appreciate how other cultures make the most out of very little.  Rather than throw out precious food because it’s not perfect, people have simply figured out different ways to use what they had on hand, oftentimes with delicious results. 

And that’s exactly what I try to do on PGEW.

This particular dish is pretty much a rescue mission for those last bits of bread that have gone too hard and stale to enjoy on their own.

Traditionally, the bread is soaked in water & squeezed dry, then it’s tossed together with simple, yet delicious ingredients like tomatoes, onions, basil, olive oil & vinegar.  A little sprinkle of salt & pepper later and presto!  Tough bread is now a lovely salad.