Peach Panzanella with Burrata

By Cindy RabbittPublished On: September 1st, 2024Categories: Salad0 Comments

I have made Panzanella in the past, but this time got some inspiration from D’Artagnan to add peaches and Burrata. It is believed that Panzanella originated in Tuscany, but is popular throughout central Italy, and now way beyond. It is generally made using stale bread, tomatoes, onions all soaked in a nice vinaigrette, but there are many variations. The name is thought to come from “pane”, bread in Italian, and “zanella” meaning soup bowl. What? I’m not sure I get that, but that’s OK.

The last time I made this bread salad I used my own home-made sourdough bread. This time I bought a loaf.

https://cookwithcindy.com/?s=panzanella&post_type%5B%5D=any&search_limit_to_post_titles=0&live_min_character=3&live_posts_per_page=100&live_search_display_featured_image=1&live_search_display_post_type=1&fs=1

Here is my sourdough and the link to the previous Panzanella recipe. It’s the old blogsite so if you want the recipe you will need to copy and paste.

The other ingredient that makes this recipe so uniquely delicious is the use of Burrata. Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The exterior has a delicate mozzarella crust and when you cut it open it is creamy curds of deliciousness. This cheese also has an interesting history of origin. It’s a long story, but I will just give you the highlights. It is believed to be created by local cheesemaker Lorenzo Bianchino Chieppa in the 1920’s at his farm in a little village outside of Andria, which is located in the southern territory of Murgia.

Today you buy it in little 4 oz. tubs in your grocery story.

On this particular winters day, Lorenzo was planning on delivering his fresh cream and mozzarella cheese into the village, but the day was intensely cold and stormy, so not wanting to waste any of his cheese he stayed on the farm and combined the two products coming up with Burratta, a mozzarella crust with a savory, buttery creamy interior. As with so much food history there is lots of controversy over who actually created the first Burrata, but I love a good tale.

I made this luncheon salad for my good friend, Dorita Pina, but we got so engrossed in conversation and sipping the wonderful Piatelli Torrontes she brought that I forgot to take her picture! This wine is from Salta, Argentina located in the mountainous northwest at an elevation of nearly 4000 ft.

It has a tropical fruit sweetness with rich floral overtones, offset by notes of dried lemon, grapefruit and apple. It is rich, but also crisp. I loved it! And retailing for around $13.00/bottle, it is very reasonable.

I really wanted the Panzanella to be the star of lunch, but did serve alongside some garlicky shrimp over a bed of arugula sprouts, with blistered cherry tomatoes, topped with fresh basil and the same vinaigrette I used for dressing the bread salad.

This vinaigrette is from the D’Artagnan website. I made no changes. It’s very flavorful and has a terrific thicker than usual vinaigrette consistency as you blend all the ingredients in a mini-food processor. Dorita called me the next day asking for the recipe so I guess she like it, too!

I made the dressing the day before so the flavors would have time to blend. This recipe will make more than you need for the salad, but it lasted very well for a week and is good on more than salad; think roasted veg, add a dash to chicken salad, even good as a dipping sauce for bread.

You simply combine all vinaigrette ingredients in mini food processor and blend until completely smooth.

The salad was also easy to put together. Start by chopping a beautiful heirloom tomato. I used the red one only, partly for its size (it was bigger) and also its color.

Slice 2 large peaches leaving skin on. And grate about 3/4 cup good quality parmesan cheese.

Next cube the sourdough bread into bite-sized pieces. Do not worry if each piece is not exactly the same size. This is a rustic salad. Cut enough bread to make 6 fat cups, as it reduces by about 1 cup once it is dried out a bit in the oven. If you are using stale, crusty bread, this step is not necessary, but if you are using fresh bread, it’s very important, as otherwise the bread absorbs too much dressing and becomes a mushy mess.

Lay the cubes on a sheet pan and place in a 250 degree preheated over for about 10 minutes until dry, but not brown. Turn off the oven and let the bread cubes sit for another 10 minutes inside the oven.

Thinly slice about 1/3 cup red onion.

Brown each side of the peach slices in a heavy-bottomed skillet with a little olive oil. They catch quickly because of their high sugar content so watch to make sure they don’t get too browned.

Toss all the veg in a large bowl. Generously salt and pepper and coat with some of the dressing. Add the dried bread cubes in thirds, mixing in a bit more vinaigrette after each addition until all the bread is incorporated and the salad is moist, but not soaked. Check for seasoning, top each serving with a dollop of Burrata and it’s ready to serve. I used 1 oz. of Burrata per serving.

I hope you enjoy this Panzanella as much as Dorita and I did.

It holds up well and was just as delicious the next day.

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