Panzanella is a very old Tuscan tradition – a salad made with leftover bread, which would be unsalted, in the local style. It’s a summer dish, made when tomatoes and basil are good and plentiful. If you want to make it the day before you eat it, the flavours will have longer to infuse and it will taste even better. When you cook the sardines, it’s very important to get your grill pan really hot, otherwise they stick and you won’t be able to turn them without them breaking up.
Sardines with panzanella (bread salad)
Author: Rhian Cradock
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 4 large sardines, gutted
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- For the bread salad
- 100g stale sourdough, without crusts, torn up
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 really ripe tomatoes
- ½ large red onion, in 2cm dice
- approx. 10 leaves basil
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olives
- 1 tbsp extra fine capers
- ½ lemon
Method
- To make the panzanella, soak the bread in the vinegar.
- Take the tomatoes from the vine, dice and add to the bread, together with the chopped onion.
- Tear up the basil and add that too.
- Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the olives and capers and set aside.
- For the sardines, first, get the grill really hot, otherwise the sardines won’t release their fat and then will stick to the pan.
- Season liberally with salt and put on the hot grill.
- Let them get crusty on one side (about 3 mins), then turn over and do the same on the other side (about 2 mins).
- When they come off the grill, drizzle with oil and a squeeze of lemon.
- To serve, spoon some of the panzanella onto each plate, put the sardines on top and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.