By Lisa Zanardo

Click here for the recipe

WINE MATCH: Vernaccia di San Gimignano

You can't go past panzanella salad if you're after a quick and easy dish to serve up on a summer afternoon. It epitomises the essence of Italian cooking, which is simple, flavoursome food made from basic or staple ingredients.

Panzanella originates in Tuscany, in the central part of Italy, and it is the third region featured in our how to cook authentic Italian series.

Tuscany is evocatively known for its sun-drenched fields, rolling hills and the unspoilt beauty of its historic towns. Its capital Florence (or Firenze) spawned The Renaissance cultural movement of the 14th to 17th Centuries where the works of Florentine artists, writers and architects gained world acclaim.

But despite the region's intricate and sophisticated cultural history, cooking in Tuscany is quite basic and rustic.

Dishes are often created from food staples such as pane sciocco (unsalted bread), olive oil, meat and beans, particularly cannellini beans, which have been grown in the region for centuries. In fact, beans are so integral to Tuscan cuisine that Italians from other regions affectionately use the term mangiafagioli (bean eaters) when referring to their Tuscan counterparts.

Hearty soups are also popular and favourites pappa al pomodoro (bread and tomato soup) and ribollita (bean and cabbage stew) make great use of vegetables. Meat is also important and it is in the valleys around Siena that Chianina cattle, the source of the famous bistecca fiorentina (T-bone steaks), are bred.

Panzanella, however, is a vibrant summery dish that makes use of leftover salad ingredients and bread, which is turned into croutons and forms the base of the salad. The other main ingredient is tomato.

"We don't throw anything away in Italian cooking, I'm afraid," says Carluccio's food expert, Valentina Daprile.

"It's all about using up every thing you have. This recipe was developed by peasants who had to think of a way to make a meal from ingredients they had around them while working out in the Tuscan countryside."

While the dish is extremely simple to assemble, the key to a good panzanella, according to Valentina, is fresh produce.

"This dish has very little seasoning, so it relies almost entirely on the ingredients in it to achieve flavour. So it is crucial they are fresh ingredients, especially the tomatoes.

"Sometimes tomatoes might look red and juicy, but they often have no taste. The best way to discover if they are good is to smell them. If they smell like tomatoes from the vine then you can be sure they will be flavoursome and this is very important in this dish."

Panzanella can be served either as a starter to a meal or on its own as a main. Use as little or as much bread as required. If you prefer a lighter salad use less bread and add more tomatoes and vegetables or if you want a heartier meal or are feeding a large group, add more bread to beef up the dish.

Other typical foods from the Tuscan region include:

Cantucci (almond biscuits): these crunchy biscuits are made with local millifiore honey and almonds. Cantucci are best served with Tuscany's rich dessert wine Vin Santo or dipped in coffee.

Il Padrone (olive oil): Tuscany is celebrated for its olive oils. The olives are traditionally harvested early to keep their green and peppery flavour. Il Padrone oil is made up of four varieties of olive; frantonio, moraiolo, leccino and maurino.

Cannellini beans: Grown in the region for centuries canellini beans form the basis of many Tuscan dishes. Traditionally the beans were cooked in a chianti flask and buried under the hot grey ash of an open fireplace to keep them soft and creamy.

Vin Santo (sweet wine): This strong, sweet wine is made from local trebbiano and malvasia grapes dried on straw mats to concentrate the sugars in the fruit. The ageing process takes at least three years in a wooden cask.

The next featured region: Puglia and Calabria

For where to source seasonal vegetables

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