Pappa Al Pomodoro Recipes

SPEEDY PAPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a non-stick casserole dish or saucepan. Add the garlic cloves and basil stalks and fry for 1 min. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, a canful of water and the sugar and season to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 mins.
• Stir the bread through the soup to create a thick, stew-like consistency, then stir in most of the basil leaves. Ladle into bowls, finish with parmesan and some extra basil.

TUSCAN BREAD AND TOMATO SOUP (PAPPA AL POMODORO)

Steps:

• If your bread is too hard to cut, douse it with water first. Then remove the crusts and cut into cubes. You should have about 7 cups.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have cooked down, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Stir the bread cubes into the tomatoes. Add the water, half the basil, and about 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and simmer, stirring and mashing the bread, for about 10 minutes, until the soup is thick, like oatmeal. Stir in the remaining basil, taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Cut the 2 garlic cloves in half and brown in 2 tablespoons of oil. As soon as they start to turn color, add the tomatoes, plenty of basil, salt and pepper, to taste. Cook for 15 minutes and then add the boiling stock. When this has reached boiling point again, add the thinly sliced bread and continue cooking for 15 more minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. After 1 hour, stir all rigorously so that the bread completely disintegrates. Serve hot or lukewarm, adding a touch of extra-virgin olive oil and fresh basil leaves. No cheese.

PAPPA AL POMODORO SOUP

Steps:

• Peel and finely slice the garlic, and place in a large pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, stirring regularly.
• Pick the baby basil leaves into a bowl of cold water for later, then pick the rest of the leaves into the pan.
• Before the garlic starts to colour, add the tomatoes and 2 tins' worth of water, season with sea salt and black pepper, and bring to the boil, gently mashing the tomatoes.
• Tear in the stale bread, stir, then leave to simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes, or until thick and delicious.
• Finely grate and stir in the Parmesan, then taste and season to perfection.
• Dish up, sprinkle over the reserved baby basil leaves and drizzle each bowlful with 1 tablespoon of good extra virgin olive oil. Heaven.

TUSCAN TOMATO SOUP (PAPPA AL POMODORO)

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add chopped onion, chopped carrot, and chopped celery. Cook until softened, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomato passata and milk. Season with salt, cover and simmer tomato sauce until flavors are well combined, 20 minutes.
• Combine whole onion, whole carrot, and whole celery stalk in a stockpot; cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain vegetables and keep stock warm.
• Stir 1 1/2 cups stock into tomato sauce. Add stale bread; stir and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the bread to soften.
• Combine tomato-bread mixture, 1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a blender; blend until mixture has consistency of a mousse.
• Ladle soup into bowls and serve with shaved Parmesan cheese and drizzled with remaining olive oil. Garnish with basil leaves.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Finely chop onion and mince garlic. In a 4-quart heavy kettle heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion and garlic, stirring, until softened. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice, and chop. Stir tomatoes and reserved juice into onion mixture and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
• While tomato mixture is simmering, discard crust from bread and cut enough bread into 1-inch cubes to measure 2 cups. Add bread and broth to tomato mixture and simmer, stirring occasionally, until bread has absorbed liquid and soup is thick, about 40 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Wash leeks thoroughly and set aside. Scald tomatoes briefly in boiling water; let cool, then slip off skins with a knife. Cut tomatoes in half crosswise; seed by squeezing over a strainer set in a bowl to collect juice. Cut tomatoes into chunks; set tomatoes and juice aside.
• In a small non-reactive stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and leeks; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add tomatoes and juice. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are somewhat broken down and very juicy, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add bread; cook, stirring and breaking up the bread with a wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let stand to come to room temperature. Just before serving, stir in the torn basil. Drizzle each serving with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the topping, place the ciabatta cubes, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp, which is perfectly fine. Reheat the soup, if necessary, beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve hot sprinkled with the topping and drizzled with additional olive oil.