Panzanella Without Tomatoes
This panzanella recipe is full of flavour and a good crunch from the toasted bread. While traditionally panzanella has tomatoes as a key ingredient, this recipe omits them and focuses on the bell peppers, cucumber and fresh basil.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 658kcal
Ingredients
- 3 cups bread diced into cubes
- ⅓ cucumber finely sliced
- ½ red bell pepper diced into cubes
- ½ yellow bell pepper diced into cubes
- ¼ white onion finely sliced
- handful fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or mixed herbs
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the dressing
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 garlic clove minced or finely diced
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
Instructions
- Add the onion to a bowl of iced water and set aside for at least 10 minutes (20 minutes is better if you have the time). Use a spoon to remove from the water and set aside.
- Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and stirring to combine.
- Add the bell peppers to a skillet and fry in a little olive oil for 5-6 minutes to soften. Remove and set aside to cool.
- In the same skillet, add the bread. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on the dried herbs. Toast for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, and stir well to combine.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of garlic and herbs to taste preference.
- If the bread seems as though it is a little dry in the skillet, drizzle over a little more olive oil.
- An alternative method is to add the bread to a baking tray, toss in the oil and herbs and bake for around ten minutes.
- Adjust the ratio of bread to vegetables to preference.
- Traditionally, panzanella is made with stale bread. This may be problematic if you have histamine issues as fresh food tends to be best. I have used both fresh bread and bread straight from the freezer and both worked well. If you use frozen bread the cook time may be a couple of minutes longer.
- Panzanella is often left to 'sit' for a few hours to allow the flavours to develop. If you follow a low histamine diet this may not be workable due to histamine development on food. It's still delicious served immediately though!
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- bread - wheat scores a '1' and has a ? as a liberator.
- garlic, which scores a '1'.
- distilled white vinegar scores '0', but apple cider vinegar scores '1'.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
- if using mixed herbs, check they are all suitable for you.
Nutrition
Calories: 658kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 842mg | Potassium: 369mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 526IU | Vitamin C: 48mg | Calcium: 239mg | Iron: 7mg