SUMMER evenings for me are all about rustling up something simple and tasty, sitting in the garden with a glass of wine, and enjoying the warmer weather – and it’s difficult to beat a good salad if you want something fast, fresh, light and packed with flavour.
Decades ago in the UK, many people thought a summer salad was that ubiquitous assembly of iceberg lettuce, cucumber and flavourless tomatoes – drizzled or drowned, but only if you were lucky, with some Salad Cream to add flavour. You might say that, compared to continental Europe, it’s taken us longer to develop an appreciation of just how diverse and delicious salads can be.
Salad has come a long way since the 1970s and is now widely appreciated as a fantastic way to enjoy almost any seasonal ingredient you can think of, from vegetables, fruits and seeds, to meats, fish and grains.
Originally created as a means to use up a glut of seasonal ingredients and yesterday’s stale bread, panzanella salad originated in Italy, using the sun-drenched locally-sourced ingredients of Tuscany. The components come together in an incredible harmony of flavour and texture – with the sweet tomatoes and roasted peppers, refreshing and peppery rocket, fragrant basil and rustic bread, punctuated by the sharpness of the capers, the saltiness of the olives and the sweet acidity of the vinegar in the dressing.
Like many dishes that are now considered classics, it used to be regarded as a simple ‘peasant dish’, but that label doesn’t do it justice!
The bread acts like a sponge, soaking up the incredible flavours, but still retains a bit of bite and crunch. I would steer well clear of using a cheap, white, processed sandwich loaf for this salad, which would lose its shape and dissolve into the salad. Instead, opt for a hearty bread – I use ciabatta but you could also use sourdough or focaccia.
I use Heritage tomatoes, which are a classic British variety, full of flavour, and in season right now, but you could also use regular plum tomatoes or a mixture of different varieties.
We use our Gleneagles & Co rapeseed oil in the dressing rather than the traditional olive oil, which gives this classic Italian recipe a Scottish twist. Just like someone in Italy might get their oil from the local olive grove, our rapeseed oil comes from a farm in the Strathearn Valley just a few miles from Gleneagles, so it’s wonderful to include a taste of the local landscape in the salad.
The salad features on our new Birnam Brasserie menu which launches in early July and which takes its inspiration from many of the classic flavours of the Mediterranean – including bistro and brasserie classics, Italian and French charcuterie and a good selection of pastas and salads. We also have a wonderful new grill selection, with lots of lovely cuts of meat, as well as a fantastic range of seafood.
Panzanella salad makes the ideal side, starter, or main course and, even if you’re not eating it in a café on some cobblestone piazza in a charming hill-side Tuscan village, you can close your eyes, wash it down with a nice chilled glass of Italian wine, and it’s the next best thing!
For more information about Gleneagles, visit https://www.gleneagles.com/.
Serves 6
For the salad:
1kg ripe heritage tomatoes
2 red peppers, roasted, peeled and chopped
2 yellow peppers, roasted, peeled and chopped
75g large green pitted olives, chopped
50g capers, drained
100g rocket, washed and drained off
1 large bunch of basil, stalks removed and teared
100g ciabatta loaf, torn, drizzled with olive oil, toasted in the oven until crisp
For the dressing:
120ml rapeseed oil
10ml balsamic vinegar
5ml red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Method:
1. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a mixing bowl until fully combined.
2. Mix all of the salad ingredients together, only using half the basil, and then add the dressing. It’s best to mix the salad together at least 30 minutes before serving so the bread can absorb some of the dressing.
3. Top the salad with the remaining basil and serve in a large bowl for everyone to share.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here