Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe

On a recent visit to Florence I tried this authentic dish that is on many Tuscan menus. This dish is hearty, and so flavorful! When I got home I was still craving it, so I recreated my own Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe.

This will definitely be a family favorite, especially when it cools off outside and a hearty warm bowl of tomato soup is exactly what we are all craving.

So delicious at Hosteria da Ganino in Florence

What is Pappa al Pomodoro?

Pappa al Pomodoro is a thick tomato bread soup found in Tuscany on almost every menu. It is thicker than soup more like a porridge (at one meal, we ate it more like a tomato dip.) There are not a lot of ingredients and it's relatively easy to make. However, the ingredients you choose to use do matter.

• The bread in Tuscany is just different than we can find in the United States. They don't use any salt in their bread and it has little different consistency. The best option is a rustic crusty bread and it should be stale or a few days old.

• The tomatoes are the main show, so use good quality fresh tomatoes in the summer if you can, this recipe uses canned San Marzano crushed tomatoes, which I use in a lot of my Italian recipes.

• 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic

• Fresh Basil (don't substitute dry or paste, it is not suitable for this recipe)

• Small yellow onion

• 1/4 cup of finely diced carrots

• 1/4 cup of finely diced celery

• 2 cups of Broth (I use chicken, but you can use veggie to keep it vegetarian)

• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper (this is not traditional and is definitely optional!)

Directions:

• In a large pot, sauté the onion in olive oil until tender and translucent, add the carrots and celery. I always add a little salt and pepper every time I add a new ingredient to be sautéed

• Cook the soffritto (onion, carrot and celery) until tender, add the garlic and the chili peppers (if using) cook another minute or two, careful not to burn the garlic.

• Add the tomatoes and cook about 10-15 minutes stirring a couple of times.

• Add the broth and cook another 10 minutes

• Cut the bread into small bite size pieces and push it down into the tomato mixture

• Simmer for a few minutes and let the bread soak in, use a whisk to vigorously stir and help breakdown the bread.

• Remove from heat and add the torn basil

• Pour 1/2 a cup of olive oil over the top

• Season with Salt and Pepper