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Pappa di Pomodoro

December 22, 2012 by Fiona Maclean 12 Comments

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Last Updated on December 7, 2018 by Fiona Maclean

Pappa di Pomodoro – Bread and Tomato Soup:

This simple rustic soup has its origin in Italy.  It works best if you use good, homemade or artisan bread.  And, although many recipes will suggest you use fresh tomatoes, I only do so in the summer when the tomatoes in this country are ripe and full of flavour.  For the rest of the year, it works very well made with canned tomatoes although it is perhaps not so wonderful eaten cold.

It is very much from the same school as the recipe for Ribollita I learnt cooking in Tuscany.  A way to use up left over bread, I first came across it in my local pub and was fascinated at the transformation of the ingredients into something quite glamourous, albeit very substantial and filling!

pappa di pomodoro

You’ll find versions of this dish where the bread is chunkier.  It’s very much about personal taste and for me also about whether I am serving it hot or cold.  The most essential ingredient after the tomatoes is good quality extra virgin olive oil.  While you can make a store cupboard version like the one shown here, using canned tomatoes, you really do need olive oil that has some bite to make this dish work.

Pappa di Pomodoro - Tomato and Bread Soup
Print
Pappa di Pomodoro – Tomato and Bread Soup
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
Author: Fiona Maclean
Ingredients
  • 1 Large Carrot
  • 1 Large Onion
  • 2-3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 handful Fresh Thyme
  • 1 handful Fresh Basil
  • 1.5 l Stock Fresh chicken or vegetable, or from a stock cube. For a richer soup, use beef stock
  • 1.5 tins Italian Tomatoes 600g in weight
  • 3 medium slices Rustic Bread
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 2 sticks Celery
Instructions
  1. Cut the bread into 1cm cubes and dry out in a low oven for about 40 minutes
  2. Dice the onion, celery and carrot finely, crush the garlic and soften all the ingredients in a tablespoon of olive oil over a low heat for about 10 minutes
  3. Add the bread and stir till all the oil is absorbed. You may add another tablespoon of oil for a richer soup. Add the thyme, either as a small bundle or by stripping off the soft leaves and discarding the stalks.
  4. Add the tomatoes and around 1.5 litres of stock. Bring the whole mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for around 30 minutes till all the bread is soft. If the thyme has been added as a bundle, remove it at this stage. Now, mash with a potato masher or use a stick blender to blitz. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. The consistency should be like that of porridge. Tear most of the basil leaves into the warm soup and if you. Ideally cover and allow the mixture to rest for a few hours then reheat gently.
  6. Serve garnished with basil and with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for each bowl.

If you like a spicier version, it’s perfectly acceptable to add in some chilli flakes to the tomato mixture when you are cooking.

pappa de pomodoro

The quantities of bread and olive oil in this recipe make it quite high in calories (around 300 calories a serving).  And, the winter version I’ve made here really does need plenty of olive oil to be successful, so I haven’t tried to do a 5:2 diet version of this dish.  If you want a lower calorie tomato soup for winter, please try my 5-2 diet spicy tomato and lentil soup which works well for the 5:2 diet or any other low calorie diet.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Bread, Italian, olive oil, soup, tomato

About Fiona Maclean

London based freelance writer and marketing consultant. I edit London-Unattached.com and write for a number of other publications. With a music degree and a background in marketing across many sectors, my passions include all types of music, food, restaurants, wine and travel

Comments

  1. Danielle Woodman says

    January 3, 2013 at 3:54 pm

    this might be better with a dash of Tabasco’!

    Reply
  2. olivia kirby says

    January 2, 2013 at 10:45 pm

    ‘this might be better with a dash of Tabasco’!

    Reply
  3. ashleigh says

    December 28, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    this might be better with a dash of Tabasco’!

    Reply
  4. Diana Cotter says

    December 28, 2012 at 12:10 pm

    This might be better with a dash of Tabasco

    Reply
  5. Agata P says

    December 27, 2012 at 1:43 pm

    this might be better with a dash of Tabasco

    Reply
  6. Rebecca says

    December 26, 2012 at 2:57 am

    Great recipe, I can’t wait to try it out. I agree that homemade tomato soup is much more tastier than tinned soup.

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      December 26, 2012 at 9:34 am

      Mark of success for me was that my brother liked this better than Heinz!

      Reply
  7. Rachel K (@MarmadukeS) says

    December 22, 2012 at 11:59 pm

    Whoops – I meant to say that I didn’t like TINNED tomato soup, but soup made with tinned tomatoes is delicious!

    Reply
  8. Rachel K (@MarmadukeS) says

    December 22, 2012 at 11:58 pm

    For years I thought I didn’t like tomato soup – it turns out that what I don’t like is tomato soup! Doh! If I had this when I was growing up I wouldn’t have been missing out all those years! And what a lovely way to use tinned tomatoes and stale bread – fabulously frugal!

    Reply
    • FionaM says

      December 23, 2012 at 8:59 am

      lol rachel, I know what you mean. Tinned tomato soup has sugar added I think, which makes it just a bit sickly.

      Reply
  9. Angel Clemente says

    December 22, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    This looks and sounds delicious. Definitely adding it to my Pinterest recipe board. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • FionaM says

      December 23, 2012 at 9:00 am

      thanks angel:)

      Reply

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