Pairings Thick Tomato Bread Soup Catalan Style Recipes

TOMATO AND BREAD SOUP

Steps:

• Spread bacon in a soup pot over medium heat, and brown. Using a slotted spoon, move bacon to a bowl, and pour off fat from pot. Return pot to heat, and sprinkle in the olive oil, onions, garlic and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat, and cook for 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue cooking until onions are silky and well caramelized.
• Add tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes, then stir in bacon, oregano and rosemary. Season to taste with salt.
• Lay a piece of toasted bread in each of four warmed bowls. Ladle soup on top; bread should rise to surface. Sprinkle cheese on top, season with coarsely ground black pepper, and serve.

TUSCAN BREAD AND TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Meanwhile, pulse the tomatoes in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until coarsely blended.
• Add the garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring, for about a minute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, red chili flakes, and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have cooked down, about 10 minutes.
• Stir the bread cubes into the tomatoes. Add the water, half the basil and salt to taste. Increase the heat, and simmer, stirring and mashing the bread, for about 10 minutes until the soup is thick, like pap. Stir in the remaining basil, and taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve hot, warm or room temperature with the remaining olive oil drizzled over each serving.

THICK TOMATO-BREAD SOUP, CATALAN STYLE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large sauté pan. Add garlic and cook over low heat till soft. Add chorizo, raise heat and cook until starting to brown. Stir in paprika. Remove from heat.
• Place a sieve over the pan, halve tomatoes horizontally and hold cut side down over sieve as you gently squeeze to remove seeds and allow juice to fall into pan. Remove sieve. Reserve tomato pulp. Heat juice in pan until warm, add saffron and set aside off heat 10 minutes.
• Finely chop tomato pulp by hand or in food processor. Add to pan. Bring to a simmer. Stir in bread. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to stand, off heat, stirring from time to time, until room temperature, about 30 minutes. Fold in parsley and serve.