Panzanella is a Tuscan and Umbrian chopped salad of soaked stale bread, tomatoes and onions, often with cucumber and basil, dressed with oil and vinegar.
In the 16th century the artist and poet Bronzino praised onions with oil and vinegar served with toast and, a page later, a salad of onions, purslane and cucumbers, often read as a description of panzanella. The dish was based on onions, not tomatoes, until the 20th century. The name is believed to be a blend of pane, bread, and zanella, a deep plate. In Tuscany and Umbria the bread is soaked in water and squeezed until it crumbles. There is no single codified recipe, though cucumber is among the accepted variants, and Florentine traditionalists disapprove of extras such as mozzarella or tuna.
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