What to do with stale bread? Julie Andrieu shares her perfect recipe to use in a salad!

This crispy bread with vegetables called “panzanella”, suggested by Julie Andrieu, is a recipe with Mediterranean accents from Italy that will put some sunshine on your plate. But be careful, to achieve it, it is important to respect a few rules. It is necessary, for example, favor seasonal vegetables et also opt for an extra virgin olive oil. For the sauce, Julie Andrieu explains: “I like to replace half the vinegar with a good balsamic vinegar”.

You can customize the recipe to your liking by adding a touch of cheese such as ricotta or mozzarella. It is also possible to decorate your salad with aromatic herbs. You are the boss. So here’s how.

For the ingredients, you will need:

• ½ romaine lettuce
• 700g very ripe tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 dozen black olives from Nice
• 1 clove of garlic
• 8 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of vinegar
• 140 g stale baguette (especially not sandwich bread)
• 6 anchovy fillets in oil (optional)
• ½ bunch of basil
• Sel
• pepper

1. Start by washing and peeling the cucumber before deseeding it and cutting it into large dice.
2. Then sprinkle with half a teaspoon of salt and let stand.
3. Cut the baguette in half and toast it. Rub it with a clove of garlic and a cut tomato.
4. Squeeze the rest of the tomato in your hands to deposit the juice on top of the bread. Add
5. z the rest of the diced tomatoes. Do not forget to add salt, pepper and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir.
6. Use the crunchiest part of the salad. Peel and remove its core before tearing the leaves.
7. Drain and coarsely chop the olives and anchovies. Then, add everything to the salad bowl.
8. Drain the cucumber if it has released water. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of vinegar then the olive oil and mix.
9. Put the remaining olive oil and vinegar on the salad. Add the cucumber. Stir and let stand 15 minutes before serving.
10. Add a few basil leaves and it’s ready.

All that’s left is to taste.