Summer Panzanella with Peaches, Cherries & Burrata

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a lovely summer and enjoying all the beautiful produce this season has to offer.

I’m always looking for simple summer recipes that work just as well for lunch or dinner as they do when friends come over. The kind of dishes that don’t take hours to make but still surprise people with unexpected flavour combinations.

Right now peaches, tomatoes and cherries are all at their absolute best, so they were the obvious starting point. I wanted something colourful, fresh and a little unexpected, and that’s when I thought of panzanella.

I’d never made it at home before.

And honestly… where has this salad been all my life? It has officially earned a place among my favourite summer recipes.

Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan bread salad that was originally created as a way to use up stale bread. As it sits, the bread absorbs the tomato juices and dressing while still keeping a little crunch around the edges, and that’s what makes every bite so good.

My version isn’t exactly traditional, but that’s one of the things I love most about cooking. I added grilled peaches, sweet cherries, creamy burrata, prosciutto and quick-pickled shallots, and somehow they all belong together. The sweetness of the fruit, the salty prosciutto, the creamy burrata and the sharpness of the pickled onion balance each other beautifully.

It’s also such a fun salad to eat. One bite is creamy burrata and peach, the next is crisp bread, tomato and prosciutto. Then you get a sweet cherry, which might sound like an unusual addition until you try it and realise it makes perfect sense.

This is exactly the kind of dish I want on the table at this time of year: colourful, generous, quick to put together and perfect for sharing. You can prepare the dressing and pickled shallots in advance, toast the bread, then assemble everything just before serving.

Feel free to swap the peaches for nectarines, use mozzarella instead of burrata or skip the cherries if you like. But I wouldn’t skip the toasted bread or the pickled shallots, they’re what bring the whole salad together.

I have a feeling this will be making several appearances at my table before summer is over.

Let’s make it.

Ingredients

3 burrata

3 peaches

250 g fresh sweet cherries, pitted

300 g mixed cherry tomatoes

100-150 g prosciutto

½ ciabatta or sourdough bread

1 shallot or ½ small red onion

Quick Pickled Red Onion

1 small red onion or 1 shallot

60 ml apple cider vinegar

60 ml boiling water

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

Dressing

2 garlic cloves, finely grated or pressed

1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar

1½ tbsp fresh lemon juice

1–1½ tbsp honey

60 ml extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Tear or cut the ciabatta (or sourdough bread) into large pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and toast in the oven until golden and crisp.

2. Thinly slice the onion. Pour over the boiling water, then add the apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir and leave to pickle for at least 20–30 minutes, or even better, until completely cooled.

3. Cut the peaches into wedges and grill them on both sides on a barbecue or grill pan. Don’t overcook them—you want them softened with nice grill marks, while still holding their shape.

4. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients.

5. Arrange the tomatoes, grilled peaches, toasted bread, torn burrata, pickled onion, prosciutto and cherries on a large serving platter. Drizzle generously with the dressing, gently toss everything together and finish with plenty of fresh basil.

Enjoy!

See ya,

xx