Panzanella salad

The beauty of this salad is in its simplicity. Ripe, seasonal tomatoes do all the work and even the tomato juice becomes the base of the dressing, which gets tossed through crisp toasted bread, finished with torn burrata, fresh basil and plenty of black pepper. It's brilliant by itself or as a side with fish or anything off the grill, or alongside a simple roast chicken.

Time to prepare: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

300g bread*, torn into chunks 6 tbsp olive oil

600g mixed tomatoes*, sliced into chunks

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Handful fresh basil

1 burrata ball (or use mozzarella)

Salt and pepper, to season

Method

1. Toss the tomatoes with 1 tsp salt and tip into a colander set over a mixing bowl. Leave to drain for at least 10 minutes while you prep everything else - this stops the salad going watery, and you'll use the drained juice in the dressing later for an incredible, fresh flavour.

2. Tear the bread into bitesized chunks, then toss with 2 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Bake at 200ºC fan for 10 minutes, or air fry for 8 minutes (shaking halfway), until golden. Set aside.

3. Whisk the red wine vinegar, honey, garlic, Dijon and remaining 4 tbsp olive oil into the tomato juice. Add the red onion and leave to marinate for 5 minutes to soften and mellow.

4. Add the drained tomatoes and bread to the dressing and onions, and toss to combine. Tip onto a serving plate, top with torn burrata and basil, and finish with plenty of black pepper.

5. For the best flavour, let the salad sit for at least 30 minutes before serving - this gives the bread time to soak up the dressing properly and lets all the flavours mingle and develop.

Nutritional Information

(per serve)

490 calories

12g protein, 44g carbs, 29g fat

Good to know:

• Bread: Traditionally panzanella is made with day-old, stale bread - this dries it out so it can soak up the dressing without going mushy. But toasting fresh crusty bread gets you the same effect, faster. Use a crunchy loaf such as a ciabatta, sourdough or a French stick.

• Tomatoes: I like a mix of heirloom tomatoes in different colours (green and orange work well), but any ripe, flavourful tomatoes will do. Halve cherry tomatoes, and cut larger ones into chunks.

• Best enjoyed fresh. The bread will continue to soften the longer it sits, so this isn't one to make far ahead. If needed, you can prep the toasted bread and dressing separately and toss together just before serving.