Oh Italy, How I Long for Thee

In great anticipation of my dinner reservations tonight at Portland's highly praised Apizza Scholls, my mind has suddenly become clouded with thoughts of Italy and calculations of how much pizza I really did consume when I was there three years ago (answer: an obscene amount). One of my foodie friends calls Apizza the best pizza she’s had outside of Italy and if Anthony Bourdain calls it “crazy good”, this is definitely something that I can get excited about. And since there’s nothing like restaurant hype and a lazy weekend afternoon to get me in the mood to cook, I got right to it. I couldn’t think of a better way to lead up to a great night of real pizza (they make all their dough by hand!) and a fantastic group of friends, than to make a salad for lunch that captures the spirit of Italy and my longing for my days of Tuscan living. Granted I never even ate this when I lived in Florence for a month and traveled around Italy in the summer of 2007, but that doesn’t change the fact that making panzanella, a grilled bread salad, would provide that perfect prelude to my evening of pizza the way it was meant to be made.

I’ve come across a number of recipes for panzanella over time, and they have all seem to include a few of the staples: cubed, crusty bread, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. From there, the recipes vary in ingredients. Since I want to “save” myself for full indulgence of the pizza tonight, I didn’t want to overdo it for lunch. However, I still wanted to make it hearty enough that I would be sustained until dinner – that’s why I decided to add some protein with tuna in my version of this Tuscan classic. This salad is ideally made in summer when there is an abundance of tasty tomatoes and flourishing basil, but that’s not to say you can’t make a similar thing right now and just pretend it’s summer. After all, with a high of 73 expected in Portland today and my apartment windows open with the sun pouring in, it hasn’t been too difficult to fool myself into thinking summer is already here.

AR’s “Summer’s Upon Us” Panzanella

old or stale Italian bread (I used an old loaf of Marsee Bakery pugliese from my freezer)
tomatoes, any variety or several, chopped
colored bell peppers, chopped (I only had red in the fridge, but it would be even prettier and tastier with a variety)
flat-leaf parsley and fresh basil, torn or chopped
red onion, thinly sliced
canned tuna, packed in olive oil
haricot vert (I’m well aware that’s French and not Italian, but the extra fine green beans are still good in it)
arugula or mixed spring greens (not a lot though – this is a “chunky” salad, not a leafy one)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Thickly slice bread, brush with olive oil, and toast in oven on 400 degrees until golden and crispy (if you have access to a grill and do it that way, even better!). Prep all other ingredients. Once bread is done, cool and then cube. Make vinaigrette by whisking olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon juice, and S & P. Add bread with all vegetables, fresh herbs, and tuna in bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss thoroughly. Add freshly ground pepper as needed. If you have time to let the bread soak in the dressing, do it. But if you’re really hungry, no shame in digging in immediately. I highly recommend that you close your eyes as you do and imagine you’re eating it along the Arno, with a clear view of the Ponte Vecchio. Trust me: the panzanella tastes even better that way.


And on a completely separate note: In an attempt to clear clatter’s name before the nasty lawsuits are filed and violent riots rumble in the streets, I would like to assure my readers that it is purely coincidental that the May 2010 issue of Food & Wine contains a recipe for a Santa Fe Quinoa Salad (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/santa-fe-quinoa-salad). Sound familiar? Upon discovering this last night, I first reacted with an over-dramatized gasp and jaw-drop (I have witnesses who can vouch for this), followed by a whole host of thoughts, ranging from “My clatter readers are going to see this!” and “My clatter credibility is shot!” to “Allison, you are clairvoyant!” and “This is why you’re meant to work for a food magazine or in a test kitchen!” But once the initial shock subsided, I decided to take it easy because 1) I doubt my readers pore over and study each Food & Wine issue with such precision as yours truly and would even notice; 2) I could easily defuse the situation by simply addressing it in my next post; and 3) My blog and I are not important enough that any of this matters in the least bit. Even so, Members of the Jury, what I ask of you today is simply this: Look at the facts. clatter’s post was on April 1, the Food & Wine May issue did not hit newsstands until sometime after the first (expert testimony will prove this). And so, barring any evidence that supports an assertion that clatter received intel from the bigwigs of the New York publication (there isn't any), you must find that clatter should be exonerated from any wrongdoing. It should also be stated that with a closer inspection of each recipe, you will find that clatter’s version is much better anyway.