The Italopunk Way to Make Panzanella con Mango e Lime

Name: Panzanella con Mango e Lime
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1-3/4 pounds (800 g) ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges; Sea salt; 1/2 red onion, cut into thin rings; 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar; 2 celery stalks; 4 snack cucumbers (about 6 ¼ oz), sliced; 1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into cubes or strips; 1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice; 1 teaspoon honey; 2 tablespoons fish sauce; 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled; pinch chili flakes; 2 thick slices stale bread (I use sourdough); 3 sprigs Thai basil Leaves

In her intended-to-shock cookbook, Italopunk, Vanja van der Leeden offers this version of the classic panzanella salad.

By Vanja van der Leeden

10:03 AM EDT on July 31, 2025

Panzanella with Mango and Lime from Italopunk by Vanja van der Leeden. Photo by Remko Kraaijeveld.

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I’m sure I’ll drive Italians nuts with this panzanella variation, but even within Italy, there are lusty variations on this culinary theme.

In Sicily, for example, they mix fried eggplant in their panzanella, and on the Tuscan coast, they eat bread salad with seafood.

I’m writing this to cover myself. Afraid of the rotten tomatoes coming my way from Italy in response to this panzanella with mango, lime, and a drizzle of fish sauce. But when you consider that the Romans embraced garum (a fish sauce from the 5th century BCE) and mangoes now grow on Sicily, it’s not so crazy. Besides, many tomatoes are not as sweet as Italian ones, so the mango lends them a hand.

Try the recipe from my new cookbook, Italopunk: 145 Recipes to Shock Your Nonna. For more, check out my essay here at Appetito. Now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and a bookseller near you.

Panzanella con Mango e Lime

Recipe by Vanja van der Leeden

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

1-3/4 pounds (800 g) 1-3/4 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
Sea salt
1/2 1/2 red onion, cut into thin rings
1 tablespoon 1 red or white wine vinegar
2 2 celery stalks
4 4 snack cucumbers (about 6 ¼ oz), sliced
1 1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into cubes or strips
1/4 cup (60ml) 1/4 lime juice
1 teaspoon 1 honey
2 tablespoons 2 fish sauce
8 tablespoons 8 extra-virgin olive oil
1 inch 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled
pinch chili flakes
2 2 thick slices stale bread (I use sourdough)
3 sprigs 3 Thai basil Leaves

Directions

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt.
Mix the vinegar with 1 tablespoon of water and spoon over the onion rings in a large bowl to soak.
Remove the outer strings from the celery and cut the stalks into very thin slices.
Bruise the cucumbers with a mortar and pestle, so the dressing can creep in.
Add them and the mangoes to the bowl with the tomatoes.
In a separate bowl, mix the lime juice with the honey, fish sauce, and 6 tablespoons of the olive oil.
Grate the ginger and add it to the bowl along with the chili flakes.
Mix well and then pour it over the tomato mixture. Stir well and rest for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C).
Tear the bread into coarse pieces, toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and toast in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes to make croutons.
Divide the tomato mixture among four plates.
Divide the onion rings and croutons on top and garnish with a generous amount of Thai basil.