Panzanella,Tuscan Salad

It’s a sunny and hot summer in Chianti, Tuscany , and after a week of cooking classes we have leftover of Tuscan bread . Perfect ! we can prepare a Panzanella This dish is a bread salad , popular in the Tuscan countryside in summer months . It includes stale bread , flavourful tomatoes , red onion, basil , extra vergin olive oil, good red wine vinegar , salt and pepper.
Sometimes it is considered a “leftover salad” and you can add other ingredients including cucumber, capers , hard boiled eggs, tuna, garlic , carrots , bell pepper
In Southern Italy they substitute basil with oregano

Panzanella

Stale bread
Ripe tomatoes sliced
Basil
Red onion
(Cucumbers)
Olive oil
Vinegar
Salt, Pepper
Leave the bread to soak in cold water for 15 minutes. When it is soft, take some in your hands a little at a time and squeeze it well. Put the bread in a salad bowl and add the tomatoes, the onion and the basil leaves. Stir everything well and put the bowl in the refrigerator. When you are ready to serve the panzanella, add some vinegar.