BRIO’s Tuscan bread salad
Q. My mother used to make aTuscan bread salad thatwas divine. It has cubes of bread tossed with a very tart dressing and crisp greens. I rarely see this featured on Italian menus. Do you have a recipe I can try to make at home?— DianeTresor, Hallandale
A. Panzanella, also known as panmolle or Tuscan bread salad, screams summer with a refreshing, light combination of ripe, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, the subtle bite of onions, fragrant, fresh basil and of course a crusty, country Tuscan bread. I reached out to the chefs at BRIO Tuscan Grille (multiple locations, brioitalian.com), which is currently offering this delicious salad as part of an Art of Grilling dinner promotion that runs through July and coincides withNational GrillingMonth. The panzanella salad is served with grilled branzino.
BRIO chefs put their own spin on this classic salad recipe with the addition of chickpeas, grilled red pepper, feta, arugula and two different vinaigrettes. You could do the same by adding whatever suits your salad fancy. I’ve also made tasty versions with roasted garlic, black olives and capers.
Traditionally, panzanella recipes soak torn bread in water or fresh tomato juice to just moisten before becoming completely soggy. It’s a great use for day-old bread. Others prefer the texture of lightly toasting bread before soaking. Brushing with olive oil before toasting adds another layer of flavor. BRIO’s recipe calls for dressing the croutons first to soften. There’s no right or wrongway, as you’ll soon find out after your first delicious bite.
Q. I recently dined at Carrabba’s in Pompano Beach. I enjoyed a wine tasting event andwould love to have the recipe for the first course, shrimp osiel. Everythingwas very good but the shrimpwere superb.— Sondra St. Martin, Pompano Beach
A. Lacking a direct response from Carrabba’s Italian Grill (multiple locations, carrabbas.com) my online research led me to two variations of this recipe that is featured only at certain locations as a special and not a regular menu item. One version calls for golden fried shrimp served with toasted bread and the other uses grilled shrimp over pasta. What remained consistent between the two recipes is the addition of roasted red pepper, asparagus, jumbo lump crab meat and an herb butter sauce.
Although I can’t confirm its authenticity, “a Carrabba employee” posted a recipe online for a lemon butter sauce that is “the same sauce used for the shrimp orsiel and scampi by adding some herbs.” I figured it’s worth a try, Sondra. Since the sauce is a main portion of the recipe, I’ll let you adjust the rest of it to your liking based on your personal taste (toast or pasta), dietary restrictions (fried or grilled) and budget (lump crab meat gets pricey). As for the addition of herbs, I suggest fresh basil, thyme or oregano.