Credit: Stephen Jackson
This recipe requires very little effort, but the results are spectacular, and it’s a perfect lunch or light supper dish, refreshing and super-tasty, ideal for the hot weather. We’re combining a classic Tuscan recipe with an intriguing dressing that we’ve just learned about. Panzanella is a brilliant and simple way to showcase really good tomatoes, letting their colour and flavour shine without too much in the way of obstruction. Here, we’re pairing our brilliant heirlooms with a little thinly-sliced onion and fresh cucumber, alongside some sourdough pieces which absorb the dressing beautifully. The dressing is made by caramelising mild honey until dark and aromatic, then deglazing with wine vinegar and olive oil with some fennel seeds for extra umami flavours. Chefs often use the technique of mixing caramelised sugar and vinegar together to add depth of flavour – it’s called a gastrique – and this is a novel way of adding flavour to a salad that is generally dressed in a more conservative manner. The honey dressing is left to mingle with the salad before being served. On its own it’s a splendid dish, but it would work equally well alongside most grilled or barbecued meats, poultry or fish. Feel free, too, to play around with the ingredients here – maybe a few capers, chargrilled courgettes, or roasted red pepper would be nice. Oh, and don’t go using expensive honey here, as we’re technically burning it. A decent clear acacia or wildflower honey would suit things perfectly.
Ingredients:
4 tbsps local honey (Not strongly-flavoured – acacia or wildflower)
2 tsps fennel seeds
160ml red wine vinegar
100ml olive oil
500g mixed heirloom tomatoes, sliced or chopped
½ a cucumber, thinly sliced or finely diced
1 small onion, very thinly sliced
1 thick slice of your preferred Sourdough bread, slightly stale, torn into pieces
A few fresh soft-leaf herbs or flowers (basil, mint, chives, parsley, tarragon)
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Method:
First, soak the sliced onion in iced water. This takes away the harshness and allows the onion to take in the dressing more readily.
In a small pan, gently heat the honey until very runny, then increase the heat. Watch it like a hawk as it begins to caramelise. You’re looking for quite a dark caramel here, like a nice mahogany sideboard. As soon as the honey reaches peak caramelisation, throw in the fennel seeds, swirl around for a couple of seconds, and add the vinegar (careful, as it will sizzle a bit) and allow to cool a little before whisking in the olive oil. Add the sliced onion and allow it to cool to room temperature. About half an hour before serving, toss the dressing with the tomatoes, bread and cucumber, season well, and allow to sit, in order for the dressing to do its thing. Serve in a bowl, dressed with a few herb leaves or flowers.
Best served at room temperature, but chilled would also work, especially on a very hot day And, when the salad looks a little tired but is still perfectly good to eat, simply whizz it all up in a blender with a few extra tomatoes and seasonings (we like a hint of chilli and lots of black pepper), and you have a brilliant gaspacho soup to enjoy. Talk about versatile!
