There’s no shortage or escaping ~the tomato~ right now (not that anyone would want to) but sometimes that sure can result in a surplus of tomatoes on my counter with a limited life span. So of course lunch has been looking very tomato-centered lately and that’s how this panzanella came to life.
It’s also felt like there’s just a heat wave every day which makes cooking + grocery shopping an absolute chore. I’ve been ordering all my groceries for the week through DoorDash to save myself the heat exhaustion. And in turn, it's also been quite helpful with actually taking inventory of what I'm buying and not just tossing random bits and bobs in the cart that don’t result in a full meal. Here’s a link for everything I ordered to make this!
At the base of the panzanella is semolina bread (mine & alex’s fave), then we have fried halloumi, cannellini beans for a lil extra umph, lots of torn basil, garlic and a shallot caper vinaigrette. And while yes the bread needs a quick toss in the toaster and the halloumi gets a fry on the stovetop - it’s less than 10 min of total cooking time for a crispy juicy refreshing meal in return!
Alright, now let’s hop into the recipe. It was so fun partnering with DoorDash on bringing it to life - they’re always my go-to for grocery deliveries, but lately they’ve just been hitting a littleeeee extra hard in this heat.
Hope you try this + looooooove it
tomato halloumi panzanella
7 oz halloumi, patted dry, cut into squares
2 large (or 3 medium) mixed heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped into wedges
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup fresh basil hand torn, plus more for garnish
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp capers, drained
2.5 heaping cups seeded semolina bread, hand torn into 1.5” pieces
1/3 cup dry sausage/sopressata, sliced in half moons (entirely optional if you’re feeling it)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for toasting bread
1 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tbsp red wine/champagne vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
salt + pepper to taste
to a strainer/colander set over a large bowl, add the chopped tomatoes and give them a nice sprinkle of salt. set aside and allow to drain while you make the rest of the salad (about 15-20 min). this will help the tomatoes with flavor + make the panzanella less soggy.
for the bread: toss lightly in some olive oil on a baking tray and toast in an air fryer/oven at 350 F until just turning golden brown and hard on the outside, about 15-20 minutes. remove and let cool completely.
for the dressing: in a small bowl, add olive oil, mustard, vinegar, oregano, shallots, capers, garlic and a touch of salt and freshly cracked pepper. whisk until emulsified. taste for more vinegar to your liking. set aside.
after 15-20 minutes, remove the tomato juice from the bowl into your dressing and whisk the juice into the dressing until emulsified again.
add the drained tomatoes to the bowl you used for the juices dripping, along with half of the dressing and cannelini beans - tossing to combine. add the torn basil, parsley and bread. give everything a good toss and pour over the other half of the dressing. let sit for 20-30 minutes to allow everything to soak.
I personally prefer my panzanella on the drier/crispier side so I err on the lower side of time.
I also like to reserve a handful of the toasted bread before tossing with the dressing to top the salad with before serving for a variety of textures.
just before serving, fry the halloumi. in a medium frying pan, add a touch of olive oil and fry the halloumi on both sides until golden brown. just before removing, drizzle some honey (hot honey for some spice) over top the halloumi, then remove from the pan and let cool slightly.
to serve the panzanella: I like transferring it to a large serving platter and topping with the halloumi on top and more torn fresh basil + some cracks of fresh black pepper + flaky salt. enjoyyyy!
how easy does that sound!!!! I hope you try it out + stay cool with a DoorDash order in your future ;)
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xoxo
katie
it's like you knew i had tomatoes sitting on my counter/halloumi sitting in my fridge and staring at me!!