Summer Panzanella Salad with Tomatoes and Nectarines
Enjoy fresh from the garden flavors in this summer panzanella salad, full of fresh basil and juicy off-the-vine tomatoes, with a hint of sweetness from in-season nectarines. Perfect for a fresh weeknight salad or to impress when entertaining!
It’s that time of the month again…#RecipeRedux time!!!
Here’s how it works: Every month there’s a theme and group of health-minded bloggers share recipes reflecting that theme. This months theme is…Fresh from the Garden…
The season of bountiful produce has arrived. Whether your produce comes from the Farmers Market, a CSA share, or a plot of dirt out back, show how you are using fresh July fruits or veggies. And if you have gardening successes – or failures – please share!
If you haven’t seen my last Redux contributions, check out these DELISH recipes:
Homemade Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter
Nut-Free Chocolate Chip Lara Bar Lookalikes
Bean Burger Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Vegan Chocolate Banana Pudding Pie
Now about that gardening…
Living in New York City I don’t have much of an opportunity to test my green thumb, aside from some herbs I keep in my kitchen windowsill, but lucky for me, I live just 40 minutes away from my parents…and my dad has quite the green thumb!
Retreating to the suburbs provides an unparalleled tranquility to my attitude, my outlook and, not surprisingly, my overall well being. It mayyyy have something to do with just being home with my parents, in my childhood home, but it’s also that suburb life.
Without fail, every time I return home during the summer I go outside to check out my dad’s garden. Forget a CSA, my parents could live on the veggies my dad grows himself! Talk about a green thumb…eggplant, tomatoes, kale, spinach, string beans and those herbs!!! Those herbs make a dish come to life!
So one year for my dad’s birthday my aunt and uncle bought him a nectarine tree! ((I know what you’re thinking…in New York?! I didn’t quite get it either!)) But it survived quite a few years and we even got a few tiny fruits…that mayyyybe the squirrels got to first!
Unfortunately, this winter, the soil froze too much and the tree died, but the rest of my dad’s crops (if I can call them that) are doing just fine.
In particular, those tomatoes and basil…I could live off of ‘em with a drizzle of good quality olive oil.
To take things up a notch, today I want to share a salad that’s a bit more complex than just tomatoes and basil, so I threw in some nectarine slices and toasted bread too! Hellloooo summer panzanella salad!
This salad comes together in just a few minutes, but tastes decadent and fresh with layers of flavors, textures, and scents unfolding, appealing to all of your senses. Sweet in-season nectarines, juicy off-the-vine tomatoes, aromatic basil, tangy and slightly pickled red onions, and crusty bread to finish it off!
Impress with a weeknight treat, or save this palette for entertaining…either works beautifully!
Now it’s time I go pick myself some more produce to make this salad again! Enjoy!
Tomato Nectarine Summer Panzanella Salad
Enjoy fresh from the garden flavors in this summer panzanella salad, full of fresh basil and juicy off-the-vine tomatoes, with a hint of sweetness from in-season nectarines. Perfect for a fresh weeknight salad or to impress when entertaining! Vegetarian. Vegan option. Gluten free option. Egg free.
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 3 slices crusty whole grain bread or pita bread (Use gluten free for GF salad)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ red onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 2 nectarines, cut into wedges
- 5–8 leaves fresh basil, chiffonade (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- ½ tablespoon high quality extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- Generous pinch of Himalyan pink salt (or coarse sea salt)
- Optional: Fresh ricotta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Once oven is warm, gently toast bread until golden brown and edges are crispy. Tear (or cut) into pieces and add to a medium mixing bowl.
- While bread is toasting, combine sliced onions and lemon juice in a small bowl and let sit while preparing the other ingredients.
- Combine all other salad ingredients in the mixing bowl and toss to combine.
- Let salad sit for at least 5-10 minutes before serving. If serving for entertaining purposes, add an extra drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil before serving and an additional pinch of sea salt, plus fresh ricotta cheese (optional). Garnish with basil and thyme leaves.
What’s your favorite summer crop? Share with me in the comments below!
XO
Looking for more recipes with farm fresh tomatoes?
Summer Pasta with Sungold Tomatoes
I LOVE summer salads, especially ones involving fruit. Yours looks so delicious! 🙂
Thanks Kalee! I always think fruit makes a salad THAT much better!!