Panzanella

Leftover Bread is More Than Wonderful

Bread eating habits have changed significantly in this country over the past generation or so. Those of us who grew up thinking that our choices were limited to Wonder or some other soft, packaged white, would never have imagined today's numbers of different kinds of packaged breads. And we couldn't have forseen the types of packaged breads -- not merely white but also whole wheat, multi-grain, potato bread, Italian bread and so on (in soft, homestyle, sandwich style, and more).

Nor could we have guessed that fresh bakery breads of all different types would be so popular. Yes, some of us still have an occasional feast of peanut butter and jelly on Wonder bread. But more and more Americans are buying baguettes, tuscan breads, focaccia, and other rustic, hearty loaves for mealtimes. You don't even have to go to a bakery to buy them. Every supermarket has a fresh, daily supply and a staggering number of choices too.

This surely comes, at least partly, as a result of this country's long love affair with Italian cuisine and with Tuscan cookery in particular. The same culture that gave birth to painters and sculptors of Renaissance masterpieces also inspired a startling assortment of treasured recipes. These people's striving for creative expression enabled them to transform the simplest ingredients -- flour and water, for example -- into the most opulent foods -- crusty Tuscan loaves, for instance. Tuscans breads have been renowned for centuries.

What is even more remarkable are the fabulous dishes invented from the bread leftovers. Tuscan cuisine is replete with recipes using day old bread.

In this country, people often scoff at leftovers. But it Italy, no one regards Panzanella Salad or Budino di Pane with disdain. Yet, both are fashioned from plain old leftover bread. Every last crumb of bread is simply too good to discard.

Panzanella is a salad that contains dark, coarsely textured bread that has been soaked in water and tossed with fresh vegetables. It has been a favorite in the city of Florence since the days when Bronzini, a student of Michaelangelo's, recorded one of the earliest known recipes for the dish.

Because Panzanella begins with soaked bread, it is important to use firm and stale, but not rock-hard, bread. Softer, fluffier breads would become too pasty. The other classic components of the dish are ripe summer beefsteak tomatoes, sweet red onions and fresh, fragrant basil. Other vegetables are fine too, of course. The recipe below calls for zucchini, two kinds of bell peppers and peas. Capers are included to bring a refreshing tang to the salad.

Panzanella is a perfect first course for summer dinner entertaining. Not only is it soothingly cool but is wonderfully handy, since you must make it well in advance of serving.

Budino di Pano is bread pudding, but because it uses rustic Tuscan bread or some other crusty Italian loaf, it has more body and a more satisfying texture than typical puddings made from soft, packaged white bread. The bread soaks in eggs and milk, so there's plenty of moisture, but the pieces never become mushy. Crunchy, toasted pignoli nuts and chewy, rum-soaked raisins give the pudding some textural appeal.

Tuscan style bread pudding makes a spectacular dessert on a summer day. Serve it plain or with whipped cream, softened ice cream or rum-spiked custard sauce (creme Anglaise).