Serves 2 as a light meal or 4 as a side
8 Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved lengthways
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil, for cooking
1 small–medium day-old sourdough loaf, torn into bite-sized pieces
3 red peppers
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
220g fresh vegetarian buffalo
mozzarella, roughly torn
1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
1 bunch of basil, leaves picked
For the balsamic vinegar dressing:
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Katie’s panzanella
1. Preheat the oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2.
2. Place the tomato halves on a baking tray, season lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle over a little olive
oil. Transfer to the oven and roast for 2 hours or until very soft and slightly caramelised. After 1½ hours, spread the pieces of bread out on a separate baking tray, drizzle lightly with olive oil and add them to the oven with the tomatoes for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, until they are light golden brown and crispy. Transfer the bread to a large bowl, and leave the tomatoes to cool.
3. Meanwhile, using tongs, hold the peppers over a naked gas fl ame on your hob, rotating occasionally, until
the skins are charred all over. Place the peppers in a large bowl, cover with cling fi lm and set aside until cool
enough to handle, then remove the charred skin. Cut away the core and white inner membrane and discard
the seeds, then cut the fl esh into thin strips. Place in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil,
massaging the oil into the fl esh, and set aside.
4. To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the roasted bread chunks and toss to coat well, then remove the bread with a slotted spoon and transfer to a serving platter, reserving the dressing.
5. Add the roasted tomato halves, pepper strips (drained of oil), mozzarella, capers and basil to the
platter. Drizzle over the dressing, toss to combine well, then season with salt and pepper before serving.
COOK’S TIP If you don’t have a gas hob, you can achieve a similar result by charring the peppers on the barbecue or in a preheated 220C/fan 200C/ gas 7 oven for about 1 hour (coating them in a little olive oil fi rst).