Here in North East Ohio we are suffering with some frigid temperatures outside. It’s the perfect weather to stay inside and enjoy some comfort foods that are hot and filling. Bread and Tomato soup fits the bill perfectly. I’m making this soup Thursday evening for my students attending the Italian comfort foods class at Cool Beans Cafe’ in the cooking school. One of the benefits of my teaching cooking lessons is the recipe testing at home. We get to eat all kinds of new foods or learn new ways of perfecting old recipes.
Typical of Italian foods and cooking varying from region to region, the recipes and cooking methods for this one soup recipe is the same way. I found recipes directing the cook to toast the bread in the oven first or last then adding to the soup base. A few called for adding the trio of carrots, onion and celery to the beginning stages of cooking or using fresh tomatoes over various canned tomato varieties.This is also one of those recipes that will allow you to use up the last of the stale breads in your house. Although we rarely have stale bread here, I will buy it from the local grocery from the day-old shelf. But for my class I needed to choose a recipe that would offer me the most flavor with the shortest amount of steps and cooking time. I found one in a cookbook and made a few tweaks. When my family ate it last night we all declared it is a winner. And since we were so hungry we devoured the soup before we could get a nice photo. I’ll take one in my class and come back and share it here or on the Facebook page.
Pappa al Pomodoro- Bread and Tomato Soup
Serves 4
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 30 minutes
10 1/2 oz. day old bread, cut or torn into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp shredded fresh sage leaves
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
28 oz. can of whole peeled plum tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup of hot water
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Add the stock, oil and sage and simmer until reduced by half. Add the bread and garlic, increase the heat to high, and fry until all the liquid has been absorbed into the bread and it becomes crispy.
Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil and simmer for 15 minutes. Use a spoon to stir occasionally and begin breaking the tomatoes while they cook. The consistency should be thick. Add in up to 1 cup or more of hot water and simmer an additional five minutes. Taste and adjust for seasonings. If you want a thinner soup, add more water. Ladle into warmed soup bowls, drizzle with a little olive oil and pass fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
I served the soup with cooked sweet Italian sausage links and a simple fennel salad. I trimmed and cored the fennel bulb then sliced it into thin sliced. I added a little oil and vinegar along with salt and pepper. This was a complete and tasty meal.
Filed under: bread, Lessons, Main dish, Recipes, Sausage, soup, Vegetables Tagged: comfort foods, dinner, easy meals, food, Italian, leftovers, soup, vegetarian
