Waiting for a covering of basil leaves.

Bronzino, perhaps the brightest Renaissance portrait painter, had a dull life when it came to panzanella. The trouble was, Columbus hadn’t discovered America yet.

Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan salad, made from stale bread, chopped onions and tomatoes, and Bronzino, court painter to Grand Duke Cosimo 1, is credited as being one of the first to describe it. But, since he died in 1472, two decades before Christopher Columbus discovered America and even longer before its indigenous tomato made its way across the Atlantic and ultimately became a staple of the Italian cucina. So Bronzino’s panzanella was oil-soaked stale bread and onions, with perhaps a little greenery to add excitement.

Incidentally, the Florentines bake their bread without salt, believing that it should not interfere with the taste of the accompanying food. Could this be the reason for their large repertoire of dishes using uneaten day-old bread?

Panzanella – the Watermill way

So the ‘traditional’ panzanella (from, say, the 18^th century onwards,) contains bread, olive oil, onions and tomatoes. We think that’s boring, so we jazz it up a little, adding sun-dried tomatoes, capers and black olives, topping the lot with a generous covering of basil leaves picked fresh from the walled garden. One of the secrets to success is to prepare the dish at least an hour beforehand, to allow the olive oil to soak into the bread.

Recipe from the Watermill cucina: Panzanella

Ingredients

Stale bread, torn into small squares. Use crusty local bread, never sliced white. (Your salad would be dreadful.)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
6 juicy tomatoes, roughly chopped (We use cherry tomatoes picked fresh from our orto.)
A large handful each of capers, black olives and sun-dried tomatoes, chopped small
Fresh basil leaves, torn (The more the merrier.)
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
A glug of extra virgin olive oil
A squirt of lemon juice
Salt and pepper 

Method

(Sorry if it’s a bit technical!)

1. Chop up everything (except for the basil) and throw it into a big dish. Drizzle, glug and squirt appropriately.
2. Leave to rest for at least an hour. Scatter the torn basil on top and serve.

Come and taste Tuscany for yourself

As well as inspired tuition, warm hospitality, beautiful accommodation and stunning locations, one of the extra pleasures you’ll enjoy on a Watermill creative course is the food. We offer you delicious, home-cooked dishes, many of them Italian classics with a Watermill ‘twist.’ We receive many accolades for our food from our guests on our Watermill creative courses. Comments like ‘out of this world,’ ‘outstanding.’ ‘top notch’ and ‘fabulous’ abound.

Come and see (and taste) for yourself. You can read all about our creative holidays – painting, knitting and Italian language – by clicking here.

More recipes from the Watermill cucina

Remember to explore the other food blog posts and discover more Watermill recipes inspired by Italian classics and convivial meals, see the links below:

Gorgonzola soufflés
Succulent salmon with a spicy salsa
Tiramisù
Parmesan lollipops
Fennel baked in white wine and parmesan
Involtini di pollo