Caprese and Panzanella Salads Combined
What Happens When You Combine A Panzanella Salad With A Caprese Salad?
It’s August and the best time of the year for fresh local tomatoes in the Philadelphia area so we are always looking for great recipes featuring local produce. I will even go so far to say there are only a couple or three months of year where fresh tomatoes are worth purchasing. Yes, you can find decent tomatoes shipped in from Florida or California but they don’t have any taste when compared to local (Jersey) tomatoes this time of year.
My wife found this recipe in the WSJ newspaper last year and we have been adapting and recreating it whenever great tomatoes are available. We also like to use fresh Jersey peaches that are in their prime right now.
Caprese Salad vs Panzanella Salad
If you are not familiar with these two salads, caprese salad are prepared with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. Panzanella salad is composed of day-old bread combined with fresh tomatoes. This salad is a combination of the two with the addition of a couple of stone fruits – peaches and plums but nectarines work well too.
Fresh Mozzarella
Most supermarkets now sell some version of fresh mozzarella either as large egg size balls or smaller versions about the size small plum. It should be soft with a moist texture and lots of milky flavor. This is not the firm mozzarella balls you find in some supermarkets and used for making pizza.
Ingredients
2 1/2 - 3 cups French or Italian bread, roughly cut into small pieces
1 + 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive
1 cup roasted shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1¼ pounds heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 ripe peach, cut into wedges
2 ripe plums, cut into wedges
10 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
8 basil leaves, roughly chopped
How To Prepare At Home
Start by preheating your oven to 375º F to make the croutons. Toss the bread with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, spread them out on a baking tray in one layer and bake in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Reserve.
To make the dressing, combine the lemon juice, honey, pistachios and the remainder of the olive oil in a small bowl. Whisk together to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
In another bowl, add the tomatoes, peach and plum wedges and toss together.
Plate - Divide the mozzarella slices on salad plates and season with salt & pepper. Add the fruit mixture on top of the cheese and then drizzle the dressing on top.
Garnish with the chopped basil and croutons and serve immediately.
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Loving the sound of this, and I especially like the pistachio addition in the dressing. Yum!
Let me know what you think after you give it a try Chef Jenni. I think you’re going to enjoy it.
I love your addition of pistachios along with the peach and plums. This is going to be great…if I can, actually, find good tomatoes!
We are so spoiled with tomatoes here in the Philly area. We grow our own, get them from neighbors and find them at all the farmer’s markets. I hope you enjoy the salad.
This looks like a fantastic salads. I’ll definitely be trying this soon!That is delicious looks like very nice one pot meal.