Pappa al Pomodoro is the ultimate Italian comfort soup. It’s what makes Italian men and boys come home to mama. I was reading a novel a few weeks ago and the protagonist mentioned slipping into a cafe his first evening in Tuscany and being served this delightful soup that made him forget his troubles…
Ok. I could use some of that.
I’m making no promises, but for the moment, I confess getting lost in the delicious combination of basil and tomato sopping its way through my sourdough. From a girl who considers Campbell’s Cream of Tomato Soup one of my go-to comfort foods….let me just say…this stuff is the ultimate comfort.
Since I’ve been on a quest to find recipes for my sourdough obsession, this jumped off the page into my lap. I did some research and found it is also called Bread and Tomato Soup or Italian Bread Soup. It’s a very rustic peasant soup with loads of flavor. And it’s so easy to throw together for lunch. The great thing is, it uses leftover sourdough bread or any kind of hearty bread you have on hand.
Pappa al Pomodoro is perfect made with fresh tomatoes or canned. The basil growing outside my kitchen has never been put to a better use.
So, while I can’t promise all your troubles will melt away, I can promise it will be a hearty, satisfying and deliciously comforting soup. And who knows, your troubles just might melt away.
Pappa al Pomodoro or Italian Bread Soup is the comfort of comfort soups. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 cups of chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 cup torn basil leaves or 1 TBLS dried basil
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 3-4 cups stale, day old, bread cubes
- Garnish: Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Saute minced garlic in 2 TBLS olive oil over medium heat, until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes. Add broth, stock and bread cubes. Cook 10 minutes on low heat.
- Serve in bowls garnished with remaining olive oil and parmesan cheese