In Charles’ words-
As I grow older, I prefer a good salad as my main meal, for lunch or dinner. Panzanella being one of my very fav’s any time of year that I can lay my hands on fresh Cherokee Purple tomatoes. I am partial to the purple kind because I find they are the closest in taste to old seed tomatoes grown by my Italian grandpa in my youth. I well remember this tasty salad treat served by both my Italian grandmas and later, recently, traveling randomly through Tuscany and Umbria dining in small off the map country restaurants – the saltless bread, unless soaked in delicious salad juices, does not appeal to me. Panzanella is a salad I frequently prepare for myself with the promise of a tangy lemon sorbet (I could eat a quart of it per sitting) to follow, makes lunch or dinner the more tempting. Viva insalata, viva limone, viva Italia,1 Buon Appetito! Charles
From Chef Nancy–
Here is a late summer meal that will excite all your senses. A vibrant, bright and tangy panzanella salad, combining all of the best produce of summer, followed by smoky, spicy grilled shrimp flavored with jerk seasoning – all of that savory must be followed by something light, summery and refreshing: a freshly made lemon sorbet!
Much like it’s summer soup cousin Pappa al Pomodoro, Panzanella accentuates and celebrates the abundance of fresh, juicy, ripe, meaty tomatoes, that are available to some of us only during these long hot summer months. The second most important flavor component, and some might argue it is the most important, is red onion, which adds a needed bite and sharpness to the dish and is sweetened by a good soak in cold water. Cucumber and bell peppers add crunch, and of course a salad would not be a salad without extra virgin olive oil and good quality salt!
Panzanella is said to have originated in Tuscany, one of the many ways to use precious leftover (and unsalted) bread, and most sources agree that the word comes from the combination of “pan” (bread) and zanella, a dialect term for a platter or deep bowl.
A word about anchovies – most people either love them or hate them. However, please do not skip the anchovies in this dressing, nor the capers. They are necessary ingredients to enliven the salad, and while you probably will not taste them at all when mixed with the other dressing ingredients, you will miss them if you don’t include them. I also like to add a lot of parsley and basil at the finish, adding more spark to this already amazingly flavorful dish.
My panzanella has a higher ratio of vegetables to bread than some, but you can always add more bread if you like. You can also use toasted bread if you like more of a crunch, or cherry tomatoes rather than slicers. Despite it being a dish based on bread, panzanella tastes surprisingly light and fresh.
The grilled jerk shrimp could not be a simpler dish to make and might just be on the opposite taste spectrum to panzanella, making it a good “secondo”. The most grueling part is, of course, peeling and deveining the shrimp. After that you just marinate for a bit, skewer the shrimp, and grill for a few minutes. I also cooked up some spinach with garlic, olive and salt to accompany the shrimp on the plate, so they wouldn’t look lonely.
Lemon sorbet reminds me of two things: frozen lemons filled with lemon sorbet that you can find in most ice cream freezers in restaurants and cafes in the summer in Italy –and Florence (a lady, not the city), who my brother reminded me about the other day.
Florence, or Flo as she was known, was a tiny Italian lady who lived in our neighborhood when I was growing up, and once a week Flo would be outside her double decker house on the sidewalk with an ice cream push cart where she sold what we called “slush” but what was more like a sorbet, or as the Italians call it, granita. Looking back, I am guessing that Flo did not speak a whole lot of English, because when you approached her she would just say gruffly “Cala?” = Color?” – which meant what flavor did you want. There were only two choices, one of which was always yummy lemon, infused with good amounts of lemon peel, which was always my choice.. Flo never looked happy and she never looked you in the eye, and we were always a little bit nervous going to get our slush – but it was worth it and we all remember Flo as a vivid character from our childhood. And Flo is the reason that I will ALWAYS add lemon peel to my lemon sorbet.
PANZANELLA SALAD
For the salad:
- 4-5 slices of robust country bread
- ½ sweet red pepper
- ½ sweet yellow or orange pepper
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into cubes
- 2 large firm meaty tomatoes, preferably heirloom slicer tomatoes, cut into cubes – and reserving as much tomato liquid as possible.
- 1 small red onion, sliced very thinly
- 2 TBS. Torre di Gamberaia Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 cup basil leaves, rolled and cut into a chiffonade (just before serving)
- ¾ cup chopped flat parsley leaves
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup (or more) Torre di Gamberaia Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 TBS good red wine vinegar
- 1 anchovy fillets, packed in oil
- 2 TBS small capers
- 1 large clove garlic, chopped
- ½ tsp. Il de Re Rivesaline Tomato Salt
- Black Pepper
Cut the crusts from the bread, cut into cubes, and place into cold water for 15 minutes. This will help the bread to absorb the dressing if you are serving immediately.
If you are serving this the next day, you may leave the crusts on and refrain from soaking the bread. as the bread and crust will absorb the dressing overnight, but in that case, make an extra batch of dressing and add some just before serving.
Slice the onions very thinly and put in cold water for at least 15 minutes. Drain and rinse twice and set aside. This will sweeten the onions and remove any bitterness and is something I do any time I am serving raw onions.
Dressing:
Mix together the anchovies, capers, garlic and vinegar in a small food processor, or mash them together with a mortar and pestle. Put in a bowl and add the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Put the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and red onion in a serving bowl. Squeeze the water out of the bread cubes and add them to the bowl, add the basil and parsley and toss with the 2 TBS olive oil.
Add the dressing and toss again, dispersing the dressing throughout. Add more tomato salt and pepper to taste.
GRILLED SHRIMP:
Ingredients:
- 1lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Marinade:
- 1-2 TBS Jerk seasoning (or if this is too spicy, seasoning of your choice)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 TBS Lemon juice
- 2 TBS. Torre di Gamberaia Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 1 tsp. Rivesaline Il de Re Tomato Salt
Finishing Sauce:
- 2 TBS. Parsley
- 4 TBS. good quality butter
- 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- More chopped parsley for garnish
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a non-metallic bowl, add the shrimp, and leave to marinate for 30-60 minutes.
Gently warm the butter, add the garlic and parsley, and keep slightly warm.
Thread the shrimp onto the skewers, through the tail section and into the thicker part of the skewer, creating a curved shape.
Heat a grill pan or grill on high. Add the shrimp to the grill and cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the shrimp. The thicker part should be cooked through but be careful not to overcook; the shrimp should be tender inside and not dry.
Plate the shrimp skewers on a platter or individual plates and drizzle or spoon the finishing sauce over the top and sprinkle with a bit of chopped parsley.
LEMON SORBET RECIPE:
Lemon Sorbet for Two
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- Juice form ½ medium size orange
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ egg white
- Grated lemon peel from 2 large lemons
Ice cream maker
Optional: Lemon cups for serving, mint for serving
In advance:
12 hours before making, place the bowl of the ice cream maker in the freezer.
1 hour before making, put the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, place in a bowl and allow to fully cool.
Add the orange and lemon juice and the lemon peel. Whisk the egg white until it fluffy and light, but not stiff. Pour into the lemon/sugar mixture.
With the paddle running on the ice cream maker, pour the liquid into the maker through the slots in the lid. Run the ice cream maker for 20-30 minutes until a sorbet is formed.
Serve immediately using a spoon or ice cream scoop to form round shapes or keep in the freezer until ready to serve. If you put it in the freezer, you may want to allow it to rest at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
If you would like to serve inside lemon cups:
Cut the top off a large lemon about one inch from the top. Reserve the top.
Carefully scoop out as much of the pulp and seeds from the inside of the lemon as you can. Freeze the lemon and top for at least an hour.
Fill the lemon with sorbet and put in the freezer for another half hour or until ready to serve – do not cover with plastic wrap!
To serve, place the lemon cup on a doily lined plate, add a couple of mint leaves and place the reserved top on top.
