Peach Panzanella Toast Recipe
A couple of years ago, I decided to move to Italy for the summer and live like a true Italian! We lived with a marvelous Italian chef named Simona and worked at her cooking school, Sagraincasa. We lived in Simona’s farmhouse in the Umbria region near a town called Orvieto. If you are ever in Italy, I highly recommend you check out Simona’s cooking classes, her zest for life and love for food is contagious.
The hot days tending to the farm were followed by nights of cooking classic Italian dishes while sipping ice cold glasses of white wine. It was a true dream! While in Italy, we ate our fair share of bruschetta. I quickly learned that bruschetta wasn’t only the version we see here in America consisting of tomatoes, bread and basil. In Italy, we explored many different varieties of bruschetta, from peas to mushrooms to squash. Biting into this toast brings me back to the Italian countryside, the days of succulent fruits, crisp vegetables and purely delicious food.
INGREDIENTS:
1 slice toast
½ ea peach, sliced
1 oz prosciutto
Sweet pea pesto:
1 cup sweet peas
1 clove garlic
2 cups basil
1 tsp lemon juice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup Parmesan, grated
DIRECTIONS:
Start by cutting the peach slices a quarter of an inch thick.
For the pesto: Cook the peas in boiling water until tender. Once cooked, shock the peas in ice water to cool down. Once cool, drain the peas from the water completely. In a food processor, blend the peas, garlic and basil until smooth. Add the Parmesan cheese and blend to a thick paste. Add the lemon juice and olive oil while the food processor is running.
Toast assembly: Spread the pesto on your crunchy piece of toast. Nicely fan the peaches on top of the pesto. Finish the toast with the prosciutto fluffed on top.
