PANZANELLA PASTA

a love letter to the last of the summer tomatoes

I would say peak season tomatoes are firmly in my top five favourite things about summer. Maybe even top three. There really isn’t much else that makes me as happy as the first sweet juicy tomato of the summer. I could list countless ways to enjoy them, sprinkled in a little salt, a tiny sweet cherry tom straight from the vine, grated atop a toasted piece of bread, blitzed into gazpacho, marinated in oil, stuffed and roasted, the list goes on. But truly, panzanella takes the crown and I have surprised even myself at finding yet one more way to adapt that meal, as here, with pasta.

I came across Wasted just over a year ago, they commented on a recipe of mine and there started a beautiful internet friendship rooted in a love of food. The Danish brand are making a name for themselves lowering food waste, localising food systems, cutting carbon emissions and cooking up delicious pop up events all over Europe. Massimo Bottura is a fan and they even got the cast of The Bear on board while they were filming in Copenhagen.

I love nothing more than an enterprise that champions delicious food while lowering food waste and helping those in need. If you’re based in the UK, keep your eyes out on their socials because I heard a rumour they are going to be doing a pop up in London in the not too distant future…

Sending love and tomatoes, Rosie x

PANZANELLA PASTA

In summer, when tomatoes come into season, the first thing I do is slice one open, sprinkle it with a little salt, eat it whole and die a death of happiness. The second thing I do is make panzanella. The secret to a great panzanella is to utilise the salty tomato juices as the base of your dressing and build from there. If you don’t want to use pasta and you want to keep things traditional, just swap it out for the same amount of bread, torn into bite size chunks and toasted in a little olive oil, they soak up the vinegary dressing and it is one of life’s great bites.

Serves 6

1.2 kg of the best ripe tomatoes you can find, a mix of varieties is lovely

3 tsp salt

2 x banana shallots, finely diced

2 x clove of garlic, minced

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

0.5 tsp ground black pepper

120 ml extra virgin olive oil 

160g kalamata olives, pitted

3 tbsp capers

250g mozzarella, torn into bite sized chunks

A large bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, half thinly sliced, half reserved whole

400g pasta (any kind will do, but if you can, get your hands on some Eat Wasted)

1. Roughly chop your tomatoes into bite size pieces.

2. Toss them with the salt and then transfer to a large colander, set over a bowl to drain for 30 minutes. The tomatoes will release a lot of their juices and the salty, tomatoey liquid that gathers in the bowl will be the base of your dressing, so don’t discard this, it is liquid gold! You can weigh the tomatoes down with another clean bowl, to speed along the liquid gathering.

3. To make the dressing, take 2 tbsp of the salty tomato liquid and whisk in the shallots, garlic, red wine vinegar, black pepper and olive oil. Taste the dressing and adjust the levels of acid, fat and salt to your taste.

4. Cook the pasta until al dente and drain, no need to rinse, the hot pasta is perfect once mixed through the rest of the salad.

5. Finally, combine everything in a large bowl: the tomatoes, cooked pasta, sliced basil, capers, olives, mozzarella and the dressing until well combined. Top with the reserved basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.