Today I found myself reminiscing my time in Italy... it is an absolutely beautiful country. Italy has to be the country with the best food I've ever tasted. Everything I ate there was to die for. On my way home from the library today I found myself craving a particular meal I had one day I was travelling around the Tuscan countryside... Pappa al pomodoro, a Tuscan bread soup.
I used this http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/bread-and-tomato-soup-pappa-al-pomodoro as my starting point, however I changed it a little depending on what I had in my cupboard, what was cheap to buy (I'm a thrifty student at the moment and unfortunately tomatoes etc. are no longer in season...) as well as things I thought would go well with it... trying to create the flavour of the meal I experienced in Italy. However, Jamie Oliver is of course a professional, so if you have all the ingredients feel free to use his recipe although I would hesitate to use stale bread... ewwww.
Here's what I did:
Pappa al pomodoro (Serves 4)
Ingredients
-3 400g tins of tomatoes
-3 cloves of garlic
-1 large bunch of fresh basil
-A drizzle of oil
-Salt
-Pepper
-1 and 1/2 baguettes
-Balsamic vinegar
-4 tsp Vegetable stock (powder form)
Directions
1) Peel and finely slice garlic.
2) Open one of the tins of tomatoes, and remove the tomatoes. Toss with one clove's worth of garlic and about 1/3rd of the basil leaves.
3) Put these tomatoes on a tray and bake in the oven, sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, for 20mins at 180°C.
4) Heat some oil in a pan, and lightly fry the remaining garlic for about a minute. Add the remainder of the basil after a while.
5) Add the remainder of the tomatoes, then fill the tins with water and add that, as well as the stock. Break the tomatoes up with a fork, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 mins.
6) Add two swirls of vinegar (or to taste) and stir in.
7) By now, the tomatoes should be done. Take them out of the oven, and stir them in as well.
8) Tear up bread into thumb-size pieces and stir into soup mixture. You're looking to achieve a porridge-like texture.
9) Enjoy!
Some things I might try next time is using dried basil at first, and maybe some dried thyme as well, then using fresh basil for garnish. This will make the herb flavours come out more.
When I was in Italy I discovered that this soup is usually left 24 hours before reheating and serving... this allows the flavours to intensify. This is exactly what I am doing! Om nom nom.
~Ingi
One of my photos from Florence... it is a beautiful place.
I used this http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/bread-and-tomato-soup-pappa-al-pomodoro as my starting point, however I changed it a little depending on what I had in my cupboard, what was cheap to buy (I'm a thrifty student at the moment and unfortunately tomatoes etc. are no longer in season...) as well as things I thought would go well with it... trying to create the flavour of the meal I experienced in Italy. However, Jamie Oliver is of course a professional, so if you have all the ingredients feel free to use his recipe although I would hesitate to use stale bread... ewwww.
Here's what I did:
Pappa al pomodoro (Serves 4)
Ingredients
-3 400g tins of tomatoes
-3 cloves of garlic
-1 large bunch of fresh basil
-A drizzle of oil
-Salt
-Pepper
-1 and 1/2 baguettes
-Balsamic vinegar
-4 tsp Vegetable stock (powder form)
Directions
1) Peel and finely slice garlic.
2) Open one of the tins of tomatoes, and remove the tomatoes. Toss with one clove's worth of garlic and about 1/3rd of the basil leaves.
3) Put these tomatoes on a tray and bake in the oven, sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, for 20mins at 180°C.
4) Heat some oil in a pan, and lightly fry the remaining garlic for about a minute. Add the remainder of the basil after a while.
5) Add the remainder of the tomatoes, then fill the tins with water and add that, as well as the stock. Break the tomatoes up with a fork, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 mins.
6) Add two swirls of vinegar (or to taste) and stir in.
7) By now, the tomatoes should be done. Take them out of the oven, and stir them in as well.
8) Tear up bread into thumb-size pieces and stir into soup mixture. You're looking to achieve a porridge-like texture.
9) Enjoy!
Some things I might try next time is using dried basil at first, and maybe some dried thyme as well, then using fresh basil for garnish. This will make the herb flavours come out more.
When I was in Italy I discovered that this soup is usually left 24 hours before reheating and serving... this allows the flavours to intensify. This is exactly what I am doing! Om nom nom.
~Ingi
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