it's stone fruit panzanella time
arguably one of the best times there is
If you watched ATK Next Gen or if you know me in real life, or, I guess, if you read last week’s newsletter, you know that I’m a theater kid at heart — and I’m not ashamed of that! Maybe, one day, the bits of media I most relate to won’t be ballads belted by women forging their own paths and longing for adventure, but today is not that day!
As such, I’ve literally been unable to stop listening to this song from the new The Notebook musical. I know. I know. I, too, was skeptical of a musical based on The Notebook, and, well, it honestly still might be bad — I don’t know anything else about it except that they put drugs in this song.
Joy Woods has really been pulling me through this month, and I can’t thank her enough for that, as I am, for the first time, self-employed. Mostly, what that means is that I’m working more than I ever have, and I don’t have health insurance, but follow your dreams, etc., etc., etc.
Outside of some contract writing work, I’ve been private cheffing for some people, we have a virgo supperclub coming up (still a few tickets left because we had to change the date, so come eat!), and I’ve been doing a little nightlife work — I’ve been working the door at The Stud for a few fun parties, and I hosted DAD (a disco party at one of my favorite little venues, f8). I’m using the name ‘celebrity chef garrett schlichte’ on all the flyers because I think it’s funny — I just hope everyone gets the joke.
Honestly, I have spent more money than I care to think about on going out, so it feels karmically appropriate that I am now getting paid to go out, especially because, come the end of the month, I’ll be heading out of the country until August 12th! I’ll be bouncing from Barcelona to Toulon to Ibiza for a week and then landing in Berlin for a month and a half. If you have any Berlin recommendations, please send them my way. My only plan is to eat lots of food, dance until sunrise, and fall in love, but outside of that, I am open to suggestions!
Until that time, however, I will be living in the greatest city in the world, eating more stone fruit in more preparations than you could ever possibly imagine.
Last week, I was at the Castro farmers market, and the air, quite literally, smelled of peaches. A woman standing next to me tapped me on the shoulder and said, I’m sorry, but can you believe it? I know! I said back, it literally smells like peaches! No, she said, well, yes, but — then she pointed to some plums — aren’t those the most beautiful plums you’ve ever seen? Look at the colors! She was so, so right. They were maybe the most gorgeous plums I’d ever seen. It felt like I was in a scene from a 90s movie, so I bought 10.
The next day, I looked at all of my bounty and decided the only thing to do was make a panzanella. One, I love bread, two, I love fruit, and three, I love salty things. Panzanella is quite literally the perfect vehicle for delivering those things to me in one, albeit massive, bite.
This panzanella might be a bit different than some other ones you’ve seen, and that’s ok! There’s no cheese here because, honestly, I don’t need it. There is fennel and also radishes because I need the texture. If you need video guidance, here you go:
I hope you make it and I hope you love it so much.
stone fruit panzanella: ingredients
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.
3 peaches, pitted and chopped into 1-inch large pieces: You can use any combo of your favorite stone fruits here.
3 plums, pitted and chopped into 1-inch large pieces: You can use any combo of your favorite stone fruits here.
1 pint of cherries, pitted and torn in half
1 pint of castelvetrano olives, pitted and torn in half (brine reserved for dressing): I prefer to buy my olives not-pitted and then pit them myself because I think the texture is better, but you do what makes you happy.
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1 bunch (about 10) radishes, halved and thinly sliced
2 small bulbs of fennel, thinly sliced, fronds reserved for garnish: You could also use one large. If you don’t like fennel, you could sub celery here.
1 bunch of basil, chiffonade: (that means thinly sliced!)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive brine
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
flaky salt: optional but always nice
stone fruit 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 half way through.
Next, make your dressing. Whisk the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, olive brine, olive oil, a big pinch of salt, and lots of black pepper together. Then add the sliced shallots and radishes and set aside.
Toss pitted and chopped peaches, plums, and torn cherries in a medium bowl with a big pinch of salt and set aside.
Pit and tear the olives. Slice the fennel, and chiffonade the basil.
Once the bread is done, in a large bowl, toss the bread, stone fruit, and any accumulated juices. Next, add the olives, radishes, and shallots (not the dressing yet, just spoon out the veggies), and toss again. I toss and add in stages to layer the flavor and ensure all of the bread gets a little love. Finally, add the basil, fennel, and remaining dressing and toss once more.
Serve! You can serve it in the bowl you made it in or transfer it to another one. Garnish with reserved fennel fronts, another few cracks of black pepper, and a sprinkling of flaky salt. It’s best enjoyed pretty immediately, but it’ll hold up for a couple of hours if you played your cards right (toasted the bread well).
Okay, that’s all! If you need me, I’ll be listening to ‘My Days’ until my ears bleed.
xox,
Garrett
follow your dreams!!