Pappa al pomodoro is summer Tuscan comfort at its most gratifying. This tomato soup of sorts is emblematic of the country's waste-free, cucina povera heritage, having originally surfaced as a way to use leftover bread, the ingredient that characterizes two other Tuscan specialties: ribollita and panzanella.
Nowadays, of course, stale bread isn't required. You can speed up the hardening process simply by placing fresh bread on a baking tray and placing it in the stove for a few minutes. This dries out the bread, giving it the perfect consistency to make the dish.
When making pappa al pomodoro, use unsalted bread, if possible, as the Tuscans do.
Pappa al pomodoro recipe
Time 1 hour + rest
Ingredients for 4 servings
4 cups broth
2 lb. ripe tomatoes – peeled, seeded, and blended
11 oz. Tuscan bread (if not stale, dry it out in the oven)
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
basil
extra-virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
Method
Chop the onion and the garlic, and then brown in a large pan with a bit of olive oil.
Add the peeled, seeded, and blended tomatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for around 10 minutes.
Cut the bread into pieces or thin slices. Lightly oil the bread and then bake in a hot oven for a few minutes. Remove and add the bread to the pot with the tomatoes.
Add a few clean basil leaves and plenty of olive oil. When the bread has absorbed the tomato sauce, add the hot broth and season to taste. Cook for around 15 minutes adding more broth, if needed. Leave the pappa al pomodoro to rest for an hour, then mix well to “dissolve” the bread into the liquid. Serve warm, but not boiling, topped with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprig of basil.