Pappa al Pomodoro -- Tuscan tomato and bread soup
From Il Latini, my favorite restaurant in Florence
Serves 4
A few notes before you begin:
It is very important that your bread actually be stale, otherwise the soup will not thicken properly. If you have an authentic country or artisan bread with a thick crust, leaving it unwrapped and intact on the countertop is not going to get it stale in less than two or three days. I'd suggest cutting it into three or four large chunks to expedite the staling.
Use the best and ripest tomatoes you can find. We're coming into Not Good Produce Season in Alaska, so I'll be using canned whole tomatoes next time I make this.
Use lots of basil! I'm a basil fiend and I add huge amounts, but really, that's the way I had it in Italy when it was prepared by Italians. If you aren't getting basil in every bite, add more.
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped, plus plenty of extra torn leaves for the finish
Salt and pepper to taste
1 quart chicken or beef stock, boiling
12 ounces
no-knead bread or Italian bread, left to get stale and then very thinly sliced (to clarify: 12 ounces is the fresh weight, not the stale weight. Your soup will be far too thick if you use 12 ounces of stale bread)
Chop the garlic cloves roughly 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. Use a whisk to help break down the bread, if needed. Remove from heat.
After 1 hour, stir the soup rigorously so that the bread completely disintegrates. Serve hot or lukewarm, adding a light drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and fresh basil leaves. This soup is served without cheese.