What Rhymes With Nutella?

Panzanella, Michela and Chiappa. My other girl crush, Michela Chiappa made me eat bread in the form of a salad. 

I was parked on my sofa one Sunday evening waiting for Hemsley+Hemsley Healthy and Delicious. But instead,  what came on was Michela Chiappa's Tuscan Kitchen.

Bah! I was disappointed.  But I kept my butt glued to the sofa and watched this chirpy infectious girl talk about her love for Italian food.

Michela is very watchable and highly likable (including her two adorable daughters) and she made me crave for things like Torta di Moka, Saltimbocca and God forbid Pesto with Pecorino (because I am terrified of strong cheese). Everything that came out of her kitchen made my tummy rumble.

And she got me excited about this Italian salad which is made with tomatoes and stale bread. I have eaten a bread salad before when I made Sumac Chicken and I remembered that I liked it a lot. Michella's Panzanella looked so beautiful and delicious that I simply had to make one myself.

So when I went out to TK to get myself some mooncakes, I made sure to grab a loaf of crusty bread. Then the following day I went out shopping for tomatoes, parsley and some other stuff. 

I did not follow Michela's method exactly. For instance, I did not drain the tomatoes (they were not that juicy) and I did not splash any red wine vinegar onto the bread. Besides my bread was not stale.

But what came out was very pleasing especially for someone who has been deprived of bread for a very long time. I loved the flavors but I felt that the bread could have done better with some toasting (for some crunch).

I am getting lazy at writing down recipes (since what I did was just estimate and chuck stuff) so I will give you the link if you are interested to try this Panzanella.

Michela's is here while another recipe (where the bread is toasted) by Chef John is here.