Tuscan Tomato Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)

Pappa translates to mush or baby food, which explains the name as the tomato soup is super thick and has almost a baby food/mush-like consistency to it. Note: some recipes you will see are call Papa al Pomodoro, which is incorrect, it is not the father of tomatoes, but a tomato mush! This simple-to-make soup is a Tuscan favourite and is also a good way to use up stale bread! It is vegetarian, but not gluten-free (sorry Loui, but if you try it with gluten-free bread, let me know how it turns out). Students, this one is an easy one for you and great for your budgets!

Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 1 hour; Serves: 4 – 8 people (depending if you have it for a meal or for a starter)

What you need:

• 1 796ml can whole tomatoes
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 cups stale bread, cut into cubes (I used 1/2 baguette which was 3 cups; I would use a little more next time) [if you don’t have stale bread, very very lightly toast your bread slices and then cube it, or toast your cubes in the oven to dry them out]
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• fresh basil, torn, for garnish
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• (plus salt and pepper to taste)

What you do:

• In a bowl add the stale bread and cover with the stock, set aside

• In a large pot on medium on the stovetop add olive oil
• Add onions and garlic, stir, cook until soft and slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes

• Add red pepper flakes, stir 1 minute

• Add juice from the tomato can.

• Break up the whole tomatoes with your hands

• Add hand-crushed tomatoes (I swooshed out the can with about 1/2 cup water) and salt and pepper

• Turn up the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer
• Stir about 10 minutes
• Add bread and any stock left over to the pot

• Simmer until the soup has thickened about 30 minutes

• Serve topped with fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil (if you want it a touch spicier, add some crushed red pepper on top)

• This is a great easy soup for a cold day!

• If you have people who are a little spice sensitive, add some cream to soften the spice (not shown)
• Note, the longer this sits, the thicker it will get. Leftovers will be a lot thicker the next day.