Peach and Tomato Panzanella

Let’s get straight to the point. Peaches are one of the best, if not THE best, fruits of summer. I don’t know why it never occurred to me to fill my fruit bowl with peaches, but I started a few weeks ago and I can’t get enough. Usually I’m drawn to strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries this time of year. They’re easy to pop in my mouth and there’s no slicing involved. Peaches seemed messy and inconvenient. I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong. Peaches, I adore you.

Paired with tomatoes, sourdough bread, and lots of fragrant herbs, peaches are the perfect addition to a classic panzanella salad. If you’re not familiar, traditional panzanella is a Tuscan salad flecked with hunks of stale bread that soak up an oil and vinegar dressing. Panzanella always includes tomatoes, making it a popular salad for summer. If you don’t happen to have stale bread lying around, you can absolutely use fresh bread. I picked up a loaf of sourdough from Trader Joe’s this morning and it worked like a charm. 

If you’re turned off by the idea of using raw red onion in a salad, here’s a tip for you. When slicing the onion, slice from pole to pole. Chopping an onion, or even slicing it in half circles, ruptures the cell walls and leads to a really strong, pungent odor and taste that can be really off putting. The method is this: slice the onion in half from root to stem (so that part of the root is still attached to both halves. Then, with the flat side of the onion on your cutting board, make vertical cuts in the top of the onion with the tip of your knife facing the root. There are YouTube videos you can watch to nail the technique if you’re a visual learner. 

This Peach and Tomato Panzanella is the perfect send off to summer. It features fresh, juicy peaches, tomatoes, bread, and herbs. What’s not to love?

Peach and Tomato Panzanella

• Author: Kate Kasbee
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 15 mins
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: Vegan

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Description

This Peach and Tomato Panzanella is the perfect send off to summer. It features fresh, juicy peaches, tomatoes, bread, and herbs. What’s not to love?

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 yellow peaches
• 1 pound heirloom tomatoes
• ⅓ cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 heaping cups sourdough bread
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon dijon mustard 
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves, torn

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Instructions

1. Slice the peaches into ½-inch wedges, halve the tomatoes, slice the red onion, and cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. Place the ingredients in a large serving bowl and toss to combine.
2. To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar, and dijon mustard. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
3. Pour half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Put the salad in the fridge for at least an hour, allowing time for the bread to soak up the dressing. Before serving, add the fresh herbs to the salad and drizzle with a bit more dressing (you may not use it all). Finish it off with a few extra twists of black pepper and serve.

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Notes

Prep time does not include 1 hour of refrigeration.