It’s been a whirlwind few weeks since starting university again in Melbourne, and I must admit I’ve really enjoyed being back in routine. A solid routine plus a smidge (ok, a little more than a smidge) of work pressure has equaled productivity levels through the roof – at least as long as I balance that with organisation (a diary + a to-do list, am I right?) and enough sleep (have I already mentioned that you all need to go and read Why We Sleep?)). The only negative is that discretionary reading time has disappeared. This is bad news for my New Year’s resolution, which is to read a book a week in 2019 (so a grand total of 52 over the year). Easy to stick to during the holidays; not so much now. That hour window before bed which can so easily disappear into social media (or Netflix) is what I need to start utilising. Speaking of, I just finished The Bodyguard and LOVED it – would highly recommend if you’re after a new manageable length (6 episodes) series.
On another note, I’ve been struggling with instagram lately. Engagement (the number of people that see and like/comment on posts) has been down the gurgler, which I know is also true for many other people. I know I shouldn’t let something as arbitrary as this bother me, but it DOES. When you put significant time and effort into something, its tough to see an online algorithm decide that it isn’t worth people seeing, or to not compare yourself to other accounts that seem to fare much better. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! That’s part of why I maintain this website as well – I don’t want the value of The Brick Kitchen entirely at the mercy of fickle tech giants.
And to the recipe – it’s a fresh tomato and zucchini panzanella, and one of my favourite summer salads. Vibrant tomatoes are important – if you can splash a few extra dollars, this is where it is worth it. They’re thrown together with golden strips of fried zucchini, crunchy olive oil and salt laced croutons, chunks of roasted capsicum, lots of fresh parsley and basil, salty capers and whisper thin shards of parmesan, and creamy torn bocconcini (burrata and mozzarella are also great). The dressing is a simple combination of good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I’ve been serving it with panko-crumbed fresh fish, but you could also use canned sardines or any other kind of protein you have available. Because everything is fresh, it is the kind of salad where quality ingredients DO make a difference if they’re available and affordable.
- 1/2 a loaf of good quality bread (can be a little stale - I use sourdough but ciabatta works too)
- 1 large capsicum
- 2-3 zucchini depending on size, sliced 2-3mm thick lengthways
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 800g-1kg tomatoes, mix cherry tomatoes and small vine tomatoes.
- 1/2 cup parsley roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup basil torn
- 1/4 cup capers rinsed and drained
- small chunk of parmesan (30g or so) thinly shaved with a small knife or peeler
- 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar
- flaky salt and freshly ground pepper
- approx 200g mozzarella or bocconcini torn
- serve with fresh fish, pan-fried, I do mine in egg and panko crumbs. Sardines or other protein works well too.
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Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the capsicum (whole) on a tray and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the skin starts to blacken and bubble. Set aside to cool, then strip off as much of the skin as you easily can, discard the core and chop the capsicum into chunks.
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Meanwhile, tear the bread into rough chunks. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle over a pinch of flaky salt, tossing to coat. Roast for 10minutes or so, keeping an eye on it, until golden and crunchy at the edges.
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Cut the zucchini into 2-3mm wide strips. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium fry-pan on high heat and fry the zucchini for a few minutes on each side until golden, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Set aside to cool.
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Halve the cherry tomatoes and chop the whole tomatoes into wedges. In a large bowl, combine the thinly sliced red onion, the chopped tomatoes, capsicum, bread croutons, fried zucchini, parsley, basil, capers and parmesan. Dress with 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic and 2 more tablespoons of oil (this is really to taste, and depends how much you think it needs).
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Spread out on a platter or serve up, then top with torn pieces of bocconcini and more flaky salt and pepper. Serve.
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Good lord this makes me miss summer, SO so much. I can’t wait for tomato season – I’m making my friend buy a bbq (he has a patio) this year so I can bbq allll of the things. I totally feel you on the IG thing, I hate so much that they can decide what does well and what doesn’t. So I figure I might as well just ignore the numbers and focus on growing my blog because it’s so, so much more satisfying! hahahah.
x
Oh amazing!! The one let down of NYC apartment living huh? That’s so true- it’s hard when instagram is such a good way of driving blog traffic through. You don’t happen to be heading to London anytime in the next 6 weeks, do you?