I stayed home today, and had a desperately needed “quieting my mind” kind of day. I made some killer garlic croutons out of a leftover baguette and decided they needed a purpose, so I wouldn’t inhale them all- (which is totally what I wanted to do when I took them out of the oven and my kitchen smelled all buttery and garlicky.)
They needed a soup.
In Tuscany, there is a peasant soup called Pappa al Pomodoro. I’ve had it several times, in summer with fresh tomatoes, and in winter with good canned whole tomatoes.
It would be the perfect accompaniment to the croutons. A soup worthy of their company.
This soup has bread in it, so it traditionally does not have croutons- I just thought it would be fun to add some crunch to this usually thick and porridge like soup. It was a wonderful warm-you-to- the-bones kind of dinner.
Pappa al Pomodoro
{adapted from The Tuscan Sun Cookbook}
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, minced
2 carrots, minced
2 T. Olive oil
1 T. butter
1 small baguette or loaf of ciabatta, cubed
3-4 C. Vegetable broth
1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes
16 oz. tomato sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 c. pesto
Basil leaves to garnish
*The original recipes I looked at do not have pesto- but I felt like adding a pesto zing to mine. I also like mine thinner than the traditional porridge consistency, so I add more broth.
- In a soup pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter.
- Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook until slightly brown and fragrant.
- Add the cubed bread, stir to coat with the butter and vegetables.
- Add half of the broth, stirring and breaking apart the bread.
- Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce.
- Break up the whole tomatoes with a spoon, crushing them into the soup.
- Add the remainder of the broth, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Use a immersion blender (or a regular blender) and purée the soup- it will be thick and lucious.
- Cook on low for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn it. (It’s even better the next day)
- Before serving, stir in the pesto.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish each bowl with fresh basil leaves.
