THE ART OF FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER

FROM THE PANDEMIC PANTRY

As lockdown turns to meltdown, Eleanor Steafel says a simple salad is all you need

It’s all gone to pot here. I think we can all agree lockdown has tipped into the “too hot to reasonably be expected to cook and clean up” phase. If it can’t be assembled – or, at a push, barbecued – and the dishes put straight in the dishwasher, I’m no longer interested in making it.

Those early days of lockdown when chickpeas were soaked for homemade houmous and vegetable-heavy batch cooks were diligently frozen are long gone. My freezer now contains ice, peas, vodka and Soleros (the undisputed queen of lollies, I’ll take no questions, thank you).

The spanner in the works is that dinner is the highlight of the day at the moment, and someone has to make it. A large, satisfying salad is the key, then, preferably the kind which is really more bread than salad.

The sourdough maker has been shirking her duties so there is no fresh loaf, only a slightly stale “farmhouse” job from the shop across the road. But actually, it’s perfect for a salad that I suppose you could call “panzanella adjacent”.

All the key players are there (punchy onion, a good soaking of red wine vinegar, sweet tomatoes, hunks of bread saturated with dressing) but with a few tweaks.

Traditionally, a panzanella would be made with stale – not fried or grilled – bread.

Florentine traditionalists would disapprove, but I tend to fry bread to add it to salad for two reasons. 1) It’s fried bread – what’s not to love? 2) Frying or grilling means the bread soaks up even more delicious dressing while retaining its crunch. The anchovy, spring onions and tart black olives all add extra kick and saltiness.