America’s Test Kitchen Grilled Panzanella Salad

Top view of a tasty breakfast with an omelette, roasted bread, and a fresh tomato salad.

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This recipe is taken directly from America’s Test Kitchen: the Grilled Panzanella Salad by Diane Unger. It turns the classic bread salad into a grill project, cooking the onion, pepper, zucchini and bread over fire before tossing them with raw cucumber and tomatoes. We have not tested it ourselves, and the steps below are a paraphrase of the published method.

The site describes the dressing as one of the recipe’s main features, built from extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, vinegar, capers and Dijon mustard. It serves 4 to 6 and takes about 1 1/4 hours in total.

Ingredients

For the dressing

  • 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 cup white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons capers, minced, plus 1 tablespoon of the caper brine
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the salad

  • 1 red onion, halved and cut into 1/2-inch wedges through the root end
  • 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 2-inch planks
  • 1 zucchini, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
  • 1 baguette (12 inches), cut on the bias into slices about 4 inches long and 1 inch thick
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 seedless English cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)

Diet note: this salad is not vegan, because it finishes with Parmesan cheese. We have not checked how any particular Parmesan is made, so we are not labelling it vegetarian either. It also contains a baguette and Dijon mustard, so check bread and condiment labels if you are cooking for allergies.

Method

  1. Whisk the olive oil and garlic together. Set aside 1/3 cup of this garlic oil for brushing the vegetables and bread. Into the remaining oil, whisk the vinegar, capers with their brine, mustard, salt and pepper.
  2. Put the onion, pepper, zucchini and bread on a rimmed baking sheet and brush them with the reserved garlic oil.
  3. Heat the grill. The recipe’s gas instructions are to run all burners on high for 15 minutes with the lid closed, then turn them down to medium. For charcoal, it calls for a chimney of briquettes poured over the grill once the top coals are partly covered in ash, then 5 minutes with the lid on and vent open. Clean and oil the cooking grate.
  4. Grill the onion, pepper and zucchini for 6 to 12 minutes, flipping so they brown evenly and become tender (covered on gas). Return them to the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Grill the bread uncovered for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden and lightly charred. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Cut the grilled vegetables and bread into 3/4-inch chunks and put them in a large bowl. Add the cucumber, tomatoes, basil and 3/4 cup of the dressing, and toss.
  7. Let the salad sit for 10 minutes so the flavors can blend, then season to taste. Move it to a platter, scatter the Parmesan on top, and serve with the last 1/4 cup of dressing on the side.

Timing and Make-Ahead Notes

The recipe says the dressing can be made up to a day ahead, but that the salad itself is best eaten the day it is made. In practice that means the dressing is the only component the recipe treats as make-ahead. The 10-minute rest comes after tossing, right before the salad goes to the platter.

Taking It Outdoors: The FDA’s Time Limits

The recipe does not include a chilling step, so if you are carrying the assembled salad to a picnic or a park, it is worth checking the FDA’s page Handling Food Safely While Eating Outdoors. It says picnic food should not sit in the “Danger Zone”, between 40°F and 140°F (about 4°C to 60°C, our conversion), for more than 2 hours, or for more than 1 hour if outdoor temperatures are above 90°F (about 32°C, our conversion). It also says cold food should be stored at 40°F or below, in a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs, and that produce should be rinsed under running tap water before it goes into the cooler.

The FDA page does not mention panzanella specifically, and does not say which salads count as perishable. Our own practical reading is that a salad with fresh tomatoes, cucumber and cheese is one to keep cool and time-limited, but that judgment is ours, not the FDA’s.

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