Panzanella Recipe with Artichokes & Olives
This is the perfect recipe for hot summer days – when delicious vegetables are ripe and ready to be eaten, and you don’t want to cook anything over the stove. It’s full of delicious bites of crunchy baguette, creamy mozzarella, tasty seasonings, and all of the fresh veggies your soul desires.
Easy to chop, toss, and eat, this Panzanella recipe gifts you with all of the flavors of summer combined with the flavors of Italy – perfect for any summer day when the idea of hot food fills you with dread.
When it is so hot that even the thought of heading to the pool saps the energy right out of you, it’s time to pare down. I find myself scaling back these days — this is not the time to be fussing in a hot kitchen.
Yesterday afternoon we returned from a busy day of errands, and as the children took to playing in the air conditioning, a Harry Potter audio book blaring on their cd player, I glanced about the kitchen. The kids wanted ravioli, but I wanted something lighter, cooler, and more refreshing. I have a general rule that the family should all eat the same thing – I’m not a short order cook, after all, but I made an exception yesterday. With the heat, I just did not feel like expending any more energy on arguing over dinner.
I looked on the counter and saw a golden baguette and multicolored heirloom tomatoes.
The kids would have their ravioli. But I would have summer on a plate. I began to slice the bread into chunks for my Panzanella Salad.
The classic Panzanella recipe may have been born out of frugality to make use of day old bread, but in my case, I couldn’t wait for my freshly bought baguette to age, and I did not care to toast my bread either. But it turned out my loaf was ready for the task and worked perfectly in my salad.
I tossed in my beautiful slices of tomato and then added marinated mozzarella, olives, and artichoke hearts. Slivers of basil heightened the freshness, and the silky balsamic dressing added zest to every bite. It made for a perfect summer dinner.
More Italian Inspiration
Eataly Silicon Valley Brings a Taste of Italy to the Bay Area, with Alex Saper and Cristina Flores
The Sweetness of Doing Nothing with Sophie Minchilli
Some Favorite Italian Recipes
Italian Wedding Soup
Pizzelle | Italian Waffle Cookies
Italian Sausage and Kale Frittata
Recycled | Arancini {Risotto Balls}
Panzanella with Artichokes & Olives
Ingredients
- 1 rustic baguette cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 cups heirloom grape tomatoes halved (or use large tomatoes)
- 14 oz artichoke hearts halved
- 14 oz black olives
- 1 cup marinated mozzarella cut in 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup basil leaves thinly sliced, plus extra for garnish if desired
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Toast the bread – it can be baked in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes, or toasted on the grill or grill pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together the bread, tomatoes, artichokes, olives, mozzarella and basil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, water, balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss, coating evenly. Garnish with extra basil.
- Serve salad immediately if bread is fresh. If bread was toasted, keep at room temperature and serve about 1 hour later.
Notes
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to your blog before but after
going through some of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Regardless, I’m definitely pleased I discovered it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!
Oh my gosh, we L-O-V-E this dish. I’ve made it twice, and inhaled it both times. (Blogged about it here: http://www.veganiseasy.com/?p=45.) Thank you for sharing this bowl o’ goodness! And by the way, your photos are GORGEOUS. Cheers!
Kristy, I am SO glad! The weather here has been so hot I was craving this yesterday. I have some stale bread so perhaps this will be my dinner tonight :)
Stunning and delicious!
Hi Liren! OMG!!! I just made panzanella over the weekend as well – for a future post, too! Hehe, great minds think alike ;P Kidding aside, I made my panzanella with the same grape tomatoes (I left mine whole though). This is such a wonderful summer salad that takes me back to Italy! Sighhhhhh…..
i found some great gluten-free bread over the weekend and bought WAYYY too much, so now I’m thinking i should go home and make this tonight… while the summer tomatoes are so great
What a gorgeous Mediterranean salad! Holy cow, I want to make that now! And I completely agree.. I see all these photos on Food Gawker of soups and just think, dang, it’s too hot for this stuff… so this looks great! :)
This looks delicious and perfect for a hot day! Such a reminder of traveling to Italy. And I love that earthy, fresh flavor of the tomatoes, so good!
One of may favorites! What a stunning simple salad and perfect for a hot summer day. Love the addition of the artichokes. Hope your Saturday is going well! Lovely photos!!!
mmmmmm This looks so good. I was thinking of making panzanella this weekend and now I want it even more.
This is absolutely gorgeous! I’ve been looking for a good panzanella recipe, and now I’ve found it. Thank you! :-)
Oh what I would do to have this for dinner tonight. First step would be to go to the store, since i don’t have any of these ingredients. Such a shame.
so wonderfully colorful: your pictures are very crisp and real!
This sounds like a perfect lunch for lazy summer afternoons! Fresh tomatoes, beautiful bread, tangy artichoke hearts–what’s not to love?
Panzanella is one of my favorite summer meals. I love your addition of artichokes; can’t wait to try!
Just as I was about to shut down the Mac and head to bed, I saw this wonderful Panzanella recipe! In between the bouts of rain showers that occur everyday during this rainy season, the sweltering temperatures can only be countered by such a refreshing dish. Thanks for sharing!
I completely understand! Hot weather calls for something like your salad, and it looks absolutely amazing! My kids are the same way no matter how many times I say that I will not make more than one meal for lunch or dinner.
Got to pin this for later! Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend!