Winter Panzanella

01/20/2025

Tuscan panzanella is a simple and tasty dish made with soaked bread, tomatoes, and red onions, all dressed with excellent olive oil. With its fresh and light ingredients, it’s one of the iconic dishes of summer, and we’ve shared the recipe to prepare it in this article. But since panzanella is so delicious, we asked ourselves: why enjoy its goodness only in the warmer months?

This sparked the idea to reinterpret the original recipe by creating a winter version that highlights the flavors of seasonal cold-weather produce. Thus, our winter panzanella was born, featuring ingredients typical of the last months of the year, such as pumpkin, red cabbage and fennel. A flavorful and versatile mix, perfect as an appetizer or a "fridge-cleaning" dish! Let’s prepare it together with the recipe from our Cesarina Lara from Certaldo.

Composite photo featuring Winter Panzanella and Cesarina Lara

"Classic panzanella is the symbol of warm Tuscan days. This recipe, in its winter variation, is perfect for a dinner or an aperitivo. It’s very simple to prepare: we use the vegetables that the season offers us, and it’s truly delicious".

Winter Panzanella

A delicious appetizer that enhances the flavor of cold-season vegetables

DifficultyEasy

Preparation time15m

Cooking time1h 30m

Servings8

€

CostLow

Ingredients

Bread 500 g
1 large leek
Snow peas 400 g
1 onion
Yellow pumpkin 200 g
Fennel 100 g
Red cabbage 100 g
Fresh spinach 50 g
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed

Method

Cut the stale bread into small cubes and place them on a tray.
Season with salt and extra virgin olive oil, then toast in the oven.
In a large pan, heat the EVO oil and sauté the leek and onion; then add the snow peas and let them cook for 10 minutes.
Add the diced yellow pumpkin, the chopped red cabbage, salt, and pepper.
Cook over low heat with a lid for about an hour or until the vegetables are well cooked and flavorful.
Turn off the heat and let the pan cool slightly.
Meanwhile, prepare the raw vegetables: cut the fennel and red cabbage into julienne strips and prepare the fresh spinach leaves. The panzanella should be assembled right before serving; otherwise, it will lose its signature crunch.
In a large salad bowl, place the toasted bread, add the cooked vegetables, and finally the raw ones.
Season with plenty of extra virgin olive oil and pepper.