If there is one ingredient that I have the least difficulty transforming it’s “waste”, it’s probably stale bread. Whether bringing it back to life for a short period through some oven tricks, transforming it into some delicious anchovy breadcrumbs, throwing it into a soup, making dumplings, or letting it shine in a panzanella. The opportunities for to extend your stale bread’s lifespan are abundant. I even recently saw this video of transforming stale bread into a syrup that really blew my mind.
In the past I’ve made panzanella variations with Broccoli Stalks, Peaches, and this southern Italian variety called Cialledda. It’s a fantastic way to make a salad a bit heartier and soak up all of that very tasty, salty leached-out vegetable juice from the tossed salad ingredients. A salad that gets better with a bit of time rather than deteriorates like a lot of delicate leafy salads.
I’ve found that tofu also has these incredible sponge-like qualities and can be a fantastic swap in a variety of bread salads.
The importance of cutting things bite sized when making a tossed salad can not be understated. There is a satisfaction to stabbing a fork into a bowl and building that perfect bite. There are technical aspects to doing this as well, it means all the ingredients soak up seasoning at the same rate. Even distribution is one of the tentpoles of a good salad, all the ingredients working in harmony to yet standing proudly on their own. For more salad tips check out my recent post where I discuss my rules for a great salad.
1- 14oz, Package Extra Firm Tofu
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