Panzanella by Matt Wilkinson

Ingredients to serve 4

Panzanella by Matt Wilkinson (Jacqui Melville)

For the dressing

Juice of 3 lemons
3 tablespoons vincotto
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
250ml olive oil
50ml chardonnay vinegar
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the migas

200g stale ciabatta bread
200ml olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

To assemble

1kg mixed heirloom tomatoes, cut into any shapes you like
Half a cup green olives, crushed and pitted
Quarter bunch of basil, baby leaves picked
2 red Asian shallots, finely diced
2 fiore di burrata (or other mozzarella), roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

There can't be any other salad that shows off summer as much as a panzanella. My take is simply lots of different tomatoes, basil, green olives, some old bread that has been dipped in smoked paprika oil and dried to make "migas" and fiore di burrata, which is a small ball of fresh mozzarella with a drop of seasoned cream in the centre. If you can't find it, substitute with good quality fresh mozzarella.

To make the lemon and vincotto dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.

For the migas, preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking paper. Slice the ciabatta into thick, long fingers. Whisk together the oil and paprika in a shallow bowl, then dip in the bread and place on the tray. Bake for 9-13 minutes or until crisp on the outside but still a little soft on the inside.

To assemble, marinate the sliced tomatoes in a little of the dressing for 20 minutes. Arrange onto a serving plate or bowl. Toss most of the olives and basil and all the shallot and migas together in a bowl, then arrange over the sliced tomatoes in any way you like, really. Dress with a little more dressing, then scatter over the burrata. Season with salt and pepper, then top with the remaining basil and olives.

Taken from 'Mr Wilkinson's Favourite Vegetables' by Matt Wilkinson (Murdoch Books, £20).