First posted: Oct 8, 2012

A Summery Panzanella Salad, And A Rooftop Garden

What could be more classically summery than something that comes from under sunny Italian skies? This salad, for me, epitomizes what is so special about mediterranean cooking in so many ways, profoundly simple, but outrageously beautiful. And I’ve added a super-lekker summery braai twist for you with char-grilled tomatoes and ciabattas.

And speaking of sunny skies, something that really nearly drove me scatty when we were still living in Cape Town was the (seemingly insurmountable) challenge of getting any herbs or little garden veggies to grow. And spending a fortune on fresh herbs every week just felt wrong somehow, especially when you grew up on a farm and a 4 acre vegetable garden was nothing to raise your eyebrows at.

So, Robert to the rescue. Now that we’re living in Joburg, there is an overwhelming abundance of glorious sunshine, and no ferocious Cape winds, which means, for us, perfect gardening conditions. Since we don’t have space or enough direct sunlight in our little garden, Robert took his idea to a whole new level… the roof. Ours is flat, so what could be more perfect? I like to think it was a simple labour of love, husband providing wife and baby Sophie with good home-grown ingredients. Actually, I think it might have a little more to do with the general manliness involved in hammering together wooden crates, shoveling soil and manure, sweating it out in the sun, setting up the sprinkler timers (I kid you not, there are actual real sprinklers with timers) and dealing with interfering (read narrow minded and annoying) neighbours who deemed his efforts ‘not aesthetically pleasing’ (aka an eyesore). Hmph.

Next up we’re off to get our hands on a little wormery (I think it’s called that?) which my sister and husband gifted to Rob for his 30th birthday recently. Pretty nifty hey?

The home-grown basil in this salad tasted all the better for having been picked from its lofty heights just moments before. And don’t even get me started on how this kind of artisanal living should be the norm and not a giddy-awestruck-smile inducing ‘indulgence’… No, don’t. Just give this a bash, and buon appetito lovelies.

Ingredients

Cooks in:7 - 10 minutes Serves:4

2 large ripe tomatoes
4 slices ciabatta
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
About 12 rosa or cherry tomatoes
Small handful fresh basil (I used green and purple)
4 Tbsp capers (optional)
1 Tbsp each of fresh lemon juice and more olive oil to dress
1/2 tsp fresh chilli, de-seeded and chopped (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

What to do

1. Pre-heat your braai grill. Slice the tomatoes into 1cm slices. Brush both the tomatoes and ciabatta with olive oil on each side. Place on the grill until just gently charred, turning half way. This should take about 2 minutes per side for the tomatoes and about 3-4 minutes per side for the ciabatta if your braai is at a medium heat.

2. Remove the cooked tomatoes and ciabatta, and rub the ciatabba slices with the clove of garlic. Roughly chop the cooked tomatoes, ciabatta, rosa/cherry tomatoes and then toss with the basil and capers. Drizzle over more olive oil and lemon juice, and chilli if you like. Add a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper and eat immediately.

If you're interested in setting up your own little home garden, here's a great resource that I found, written by the ever-inspiring Bern le Roux, author and editor of the brand new Conde Nast Gourmet Magazine.

Box one of two