With people beginning to travel again despite COVID-19, it can sometimes feel like, in the lyrics of Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, that “everybody’s coming to my house.”
We all have these mixed feelings when guests insist on being fed, which can be hard to avoid around the holidays. Add to that the pressures of COVID-19 and of trying to capture the wabi-sabi transience of a sudden glut of fall produce, and it can get overwhelming. Simple, adaptable, scalable recipes are your savior.
Panzanella, aka bread salad, is intrinsically linked to the peak summer tomato explosion. For the purists, the Giuseppe Palmieri version from Massimo Bottura’s “Bread is Gold” is the gold standard for zero waste and simplicity. Outside of home, it’s magic for potlucks and picnics. It’s also infinitely adaptable to whatever you have on hand, like autumn kaki (persimmons).