it's a celery panzanella, baby!
*dj khaled voice* another one
Hello!
I’m going to keep this short and sweet and get right to the point: panzanella rocks. After the last one, I thought I couldn’t possibly make a better one, and then I remembered… I already did.
A couple of years ago, virgo supperclub was hired to do a private birthday party. Lara and I were given a list of things the birthday girl liked — celery, caesar salad, fish, stone fruit, burrata, sourdough bread, Nutella, pickles — the list went on. Then, as Lara and I do best, we got to dreaming up a menu.
Lara developed this incredible burrata course with cherries macerated in balsamic vinegar. She also made a homemade nutella bite (which I still dream about). I landed on caesar salad pasta with fried capers and a celery panzanella. (There were other things on the menu, but… those are for another time).
Tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers — there are lots of “classic” panzanella ingredients, but I think we should all feel a little free to have a bit more fun in the kitchen. Not to bring Glee into this, but if there’s one thing that show taught me, it’s that a mashup is, if not better than the original, still very, very fun.
So, that’s what this is. A mashup of things I love. A crisp, bright, briny celery salad married with dense, toasty, bready panzanella. It’s got olives and capers. It’s got lemon and garlic. And, maybe most importantly, it makes use of an all too often discarded friend, celery leaves.
This panzanella will serve somewhere between 6 and 10 people, depending on how hungry everyone is. And, for what it’s worth, it’s still pretty good the next day as leftovers. I would have never thought I’d be saying that about a panzanella, but if you play your cards right (toast the bread enough and dress it well), it’s nice right out of the fridge with a fried egg on top. WHO KNEW?!
celery panzanella: ingredients
for the salad
1 small head of celery, thinly sliced on the bias, leaves reserved for garnish
1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced on the bias, fronds reserved for garnish
3-5 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
1 small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
1 small bunch of dill, roughly chopped
1 pint of castelvetrano olives, pitted and torn (you can also use another mild green olive here if you can’t find castelvetrano)
2 tablespoons capers
1 loaf of your favorite bread, torn into 1-inch pieces: I used a 1.5 lb country loaf. I’d aim for something around this size — sourdough would be nice! Just make sure it’s good, dense bread. A fresh loaf is a little chewy in a nice way and does a lot for the texture of the panzanella.
for the dressing
2 tablespoons olive brine
2 tablespoons caper brine
2/3 cup good olive oil + 2 tablespoons for the bread
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish
zest and juice of one large lemon (~5 tablespoons of juice)
2 large cloves of garlic, grated
lots of fresh cracked black pepper
THERE’S NO EXTRA SALT HERE! The olive and caper brines combined with the parm provide all the salt I need — but, as always, taste for yourself and adjust as necessary
If you want a visual — here ya go!
celery panzanella: method
Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Tear your loaf of bread into 1-inch pieces. Tearing ensures there will be little craggy edges to get crispy and help soak up the sauce. Also, it looks more fun. Toss the torn bread in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a big pinch of kosher salt, and lots of black pepper. Then bake for ~20 minutes, or until toasty and golden, tossing halfway through.
Next, prep your salad. Slice the celery, fennel, and scallions. Chop the dill and parsley. Tear the olives. Then, toss it all in a big bowl with the capers and throw it in the fridge. This step is especially important for me because I like it to be a little cold, but if you don’t mind room temp, don’t worry about it!
Next, make your dressing in the bowl you’ll serve in. Whisk the lemon juice, zest, olive and caper brine, olive oil, grated garlic, black pepper, and parmesan cheese together and set it aside.
Once the bread is toasted and cooled a bit and your veggies and herbs are chilled to your liking, dress and serve. Toss the veggies and herbs in the dressing, then add the bread in two stages, half at a time, tossing to get them nice and dressed as well. Garnish with reserved celery leaves and fennel fronds. I like to finish the whole thing off by shaving some strips of parm over it and showing it in a little more black pepper.
And that’s it! Celery panzanella! I love it! I love you! I hope you’re having the best time wherever you are!!
<3
G
this is so good! more panzanella variations plz 🤤