This Heirloom Tomato Panzanella is a perfect way to enjoy summer’s most beautiful tomato!
This is my absolute favorite time of year for produce in Maryland. We’ve got stone fruit, berries, sweet corn, fairytale eggplant and tomatoes (and that’s barely scratching the surface of everything that’s available). Between my CSA and the farmer’s market, I feel incredibly lucky to have so many options at my fingertips. That’s why when I first heard about a campaign called Save The Flavors, I was a little stunned to learn that everything I take for granted could be changing. What I’ve learned is that every year, new fruit and vegetable varieties are disappearing. They’re endangered no one is rallying to save them.
For this campaign, Seeds of Change has teamed up with celebrity Chef Hugh Acheson to spread awareness about the issue and they asked me to dedicate a post to their cause. I was more than happy to get involved. If you can spare 2 minutes, please watch this video which highlights the Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato:
The idea of the video and campaign is certainly an interesting one: eat them to save them. It sounds weird, but it’s a basic case of supply and demand. Consumers demanded organics and now even the big chains have a huge selection. If we demand endangered produce, it will have the same results. Again, you can visit Save The Flavors for more information.
Heirlooms were an obvious ingredient to feature in the recipe for this post but I stumbled a bit trying to come up with something. I really just like eating them plain with a bit of salt on top. Heirlooms have so much flavor on their own so I don’t like to overwork them. This panzanella salad really allows the tomatoes to shine and it’s a great way to showcase the variety of colors available if you can find them. I added some basil and fresh mozzarella for a caprese touch.
Heirloom Tomato Panzanella
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- pinch of ground black pepper
- 4 cups stale artisan bread, 1-3 days old, cut into 2-inch cubes (see notes)
- 4-6 heirloom tomatoes, preferably assorted sizes and colors, large dice (see notes)
- 1 english cucumber, seeded and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces or coarsely chopped
- 3-4 tablespoons fresh basil, torn into small pieces or coarsely chopped
Instructions
- To prepare the vinaigrette, place the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper in a blender or jar with a tight fitting lid. Blend or shake vigorously until combined.
- In a large bowl, gently toss together the bread, tomatoes, cucumber, mozzarella and basil.
- Toss approximately 3/4 of the vinaigrette with the salad ingredients and allow everything to sit for 30 minutes so that the flavors can mingle. If desired, drizzle on the remaining vinaigrette just before serving.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
Disclaimer: I was paid to develop a recipe for Seeds Of Change in conjunction with their Save the Flavors campaign. As always, all opinions are my own. #SaveTheFlavors
This looks wonderful and I love that you went with a simple recipe to allow the heirlooms to shine. Heirlooms are so beautiful and have such a unique flavor. It would be great to see them regularly at markets.
I have been on the hunt for heirlooms – hoping to find some this weekend. I need to pick up some corn too. And some of everything else at the market :)
I’m so glad to hear about such a great campaign. The selection of produce that we have currently available is a fraction of all the varieties that used to exist. Which is pretty sad. So I’m all about Save the Flavors! I love heirlooms and this salad is the perfect way to enjoy them!
Panzanella is my favorite, gorgeous heirlooms!
Such a great campaign! The panzanella looks absolutely sublime – so vibrant and fresh. I’m totally with you regarding heirloom tomatoes – they are so delicious on their own they need very little done to them to make hem shine. Gorgeous photos too!
Wow. This looks amazing.