Lunch:: Panzanella

Do you get bored with same old lunch, day in, day out? Are you salivating at the thought of your Cheese and Pickle Sandwich eaten at your desk in a moment snatched between emails? Neither am I! I am starting a new weekly lunch recipe series in an attempt to overhaul my lunches of old and ring the changes with something new.

With World Environment Day (5th June) in mind, I am thinking about our FOODprint - how much we waste our food. This recipe suggests using ciabatta, but you can in fact use any stale bread that you have lying around. 

Panzanella

Prep time 15 mins. Serves 3-4 people

Panzanella is a rustic Italian salad, and way back when I was a vegetarian, we used to eat this all the time. To make this more substantial meal, serve along some cooked chicken. What you put in your panzanella can be highly subjective, but here is what I like in mine.

Ingredients

Small ciabatta loaf

2 gloves of garlic sliced

Half of a cucumber chopped

Avocado chopped

Cherry tomatoes - a handful or two

Fresh basil - a few leaves, torn

300 ml Olive oil

100 ml Wine vinegar or Balsamic vinegar

Alternative: use a classic salad dressing of your choice

Method

1. Tear up the ciabatta into bite sized chunks and place into a bowl with the garlic.

2. Add in the chopped salad vegetables and the basil.

3. If you want to make your own dressing, mix up the olive oil and vinegar. Otherwise, use a bought dressing. Pour this over the salad and mix well.

If you are taking this into work with you, you may want to set aside the dressing and apply it ten minutes before you eat it. 

Love Mrs Jones x