Simone Ciattini's Panzanella, Illustrated

Panzanella is, as I said, bread based. You'll need a loaf of day-old Italian bread, of the kind that has a quite firm crust and crumb with enough body to be able to stand up to being thoroughly soaked. American-style soft breads of the sort baked in a baking tin simply will not work for panzanella, because they will collapse into a paste.

In addition to bread you will need:

• Vinegar
• Sun-Ripened Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Sweet onion, along the lines of Tropea if you're in Europe, or Vidalia if you're in the Americas
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• Fresh Basil

The photos will give you an idea of how much of each ingredient you'll need.

These are the standard ingredients. As Simone points out, however, Panzanella is a family recipe and as such subject to innumerable variations.

A dear friend of mine liked his poor, with just basil, vinegar, olive oil and salt.

Other enrich theirs with capers, or perhaps pitted slivered black olives, and I have even encountered panzanella with crumbled canned tuna. Which is a bit extreme, but Simone knows people who add carrot or celery (finely sliced crosswise) to their panzanella.