Pappa al pomodoro: Tuscan tomato, bread and basil soup
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Pappa al pomodoro (Tuscan tomato and bread soup)
This summer classic is wonderfully versatile: eat it hot, at room temperature or chilled. It relies on ripe, tasty tomatoes; if yours are a little lacking, add a cup or two of good crushed tomatoes. Fresh basil, black pepper and extra virgin olive oil do the rest. At our cooking classes, the oil comes from just down the road.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg (3¼ lb) ripe, tasty tomatoes
- 2 medium onions, very finely chopped
- 3 celery stalks, very finely chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves: 1 whole, 1 finely chopped or crushed
- Good extra virgin olive oil
- 750 ml (3 cups) vegetable stock (made by simmering water with a stock cube, onion, celery and carrot)
- 6–10 slices firm, stale Tuscan bread (3 days old is perfect) or a firm farmhouse loaf, cut into small pieces
- A small bunch of basil (at least 25 leaves), finely chopped
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and turn off the heat. Put the tomatoes in for a couple of minutes, until the skins peel away easily when you test with a knife tip. Drain, peel and chop the tomatoes quite finely.
- Heat a good swirl of olive oil in a large pot. Add the whole garlic clove, onions and celery and cook for a few minutes, until the onion is translucent but not browned.
- Add the tomatoes, a pinch of salt and some black pepper and cook gently for a couple of minutes.
- Add the stock and bread, cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, making sure all the bread breaks down. Add more stock or hot water if needed: it should be thick and mushy, almost thick enough to eat with a fork.
- Find the cooked garlic clove and squeeze it back into the soup with a garlic press. Stir in the raw chopped garlic and the basil, and taste for seasoning.
- Serve hot, at room temperature or chilled, with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil to swirl on top at the table.
Notes
Serves 6 as a filling soup, or 12 as part of a picnic-style meal with cheeses and other dishes.
Easy recipe…No good tomatoes this time of year, so used combo of Campari tomatoes blanced and peeled, 1.5 pounds of roasted cherry tomatoes (a little olive oil, salt and pepper), and a 28 oz. can of really good chopped Italian tomatoes. For the stale bread, I used a good roasted garlic ciabatta. Came out tasty and filling. Great hot or cold. Thanks.