Panzanella sans bread and a story
POSTED ON September 20, 2010
cherry tomatoes
Each time I buy a pint of cherry tomatoes I think it’ll be the last of the year, but they seem to be hanging on even as the cool weather infuses the air, and apples and squash arrive at the farmer’s market in weighty abundance.
I have been making variations of this simple salad all summer, it’s a panzanella sans bread.
My latest version, which I made just last week included a cup of cooked chickpeas. The addition made the dish a little heartier and I enjoyed the mellow texture the chickpeas lent to an otherwise crisp and refreshing salad.
Below is a story about my childhood garden and cherry tomatoes that I wrote for Poetry of Food.
summer in a bowl
breadless panzanella
Cherry tomatoes in my childhood garden.
As a child I spent hours in my family’s garden. While we, my sister and I helped, it was my parents’ hard work that provided fresh organic vegetables for our dinner almost every night. We picked tender Brussels sprouts, buttery lettuces and the best broccoli and chard I’ve ever had. We ate these veggies many ways but mostly just steamed with a sprinkling of tamari and lemon…we all agreed you could not beat those freshly picked vegetables for dinner and to this day nothing compares.
me in our garden.
Amongst all those other vegetables we grew: potatoes, basil, fennel and cauliflower were cherry tomatoes, or Tom Thumb’s as they used to be called in Australia. They grew like weeds and took over large parts of the garden. They were never really valued like the other produce we grew, or at least not the same way they are at the green market, here in New York.
We popped them in our mouths as we pottered about in the garden. I liked to munch on mine with a chive or sprig of parsley, a mini salad taking shape in my mouth.
I think what most drew me to the mass of out-of-control cherry tomatoes were the smell of the leaves. Smelling the leaves of a tomato plant is always the first thing I do when entering any garden and I wonder every time: what is it about that enchanting verdant scent of a tomato plant?
That fragrance tells you a little about the flavor of a tomato; it hints at how good they taste but doesn’t give too much away.
The combination of the scent and the sweet tangy juice of a cherry tomato as it bursts in your mouth always takes me to the garden of my childhood — the late summer sun warm and low and the promise of freshly picked vegetables for dinner.
These days I always buy cherry tomatoes and love getting a variety of colors. They are my favorite type of tomato for many reasons: they keep well; seem to travel home from the green market with much more strength than their Heirloom cousins who always seem to split (unless you remember to bring bubble wrap along with you!); they can be eaten as is, cut in half on toast with olive oil and basil leaves, made into a salsa or if they sit too long and become soft, simply simmered into a richly flavored sauce to toss with pasta. Any simple meal looks and tastes better with a handful of multi-colored cherry tomatoes scattered over.
Breadless panzanella
Traditionally panzanella is made with crisp croutons that soak up all the flavorful juices created by tomatoes, cucumbers and the dressing. It is delicious and please don’t get me wrong – I love Panzanella, but like to eat salads with bread or a hearty grain on the side.
½ small red onion, finely sliced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Large pinch sea salt
1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
2 small Middle Eastern cucumbers, sliced
12 basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 ½ tablespoons capers
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Place onion, red wine vinegar and salt in a medium size bowl, mix well and allow to sit 10 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, toss to combine and adjust salt to taste.
Serves 4.
POSTED IN Gluten free, Salads
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What beautiful pics, and what a cutie! lol
Oh Amy I remember you then and I remember the garden too! And all the good food shared there xxxx
Love the pics! And our breadless panzanella is so beautiful!
I’ve eaten from that lovely garden, too – and that pic was probably around the last time I saw you. 😉
Popping a sun-warmed cherry tomato straight from the bush into my mouth is a pleasure I am looking forward to again soon. Those weedy volunteers will be pushing their way up and out with all of this week’s rain…
I love tomatoes but cherry tomatoes really are special. And how cute, a mini you in the garden!
I don’t often comment, though I love your website and recipes–thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas! I am catching up now, and just have to comment about that sweet photo of little you in the garden–it is so delightfully adorable! Someday when I can, I want to have a garden just like the one your parents had.