Pappa Al Pomodoro Recipes

TUSCAN TOMATO SOUP (PAPPA AL POMODORO)

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add chopped onion, chopped carrot, and chopped celery. Cook until softened, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomato passata and milk. Season with salt, cover and simmer tomato sauce until flavors are well combined, 20 minutes.
• Combine whole onion, whole carrot, and whole celery stalk in a stockpot; cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain vegetables and keep stock warm.
• Stir 1 1/2 cups stock into tomato sauce. Add stale bread; stir and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the bread to soften.
• Combine tomato-bread mixture, 1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a blender; blend until mixture has consistency of a mousse.
• Ladle soup into bowls and serve with shaved Parmesan cheese and drizzled with remaining olive oil. Garnish with basil leaves.

PAPPA AL POMODORO SOUP

Steps:

• Peel and finely slice the garlic, and place in a large pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, stirring regularly.
• Pick the baby basil leaves into a bowl of cold water for later, then pick the rest of the leaves into the pan.
• Before the garlic starts to colour, add the tomatoes and 2 tins' worth of water, season with sea salt and black pepper, and bring to the boil, gently mashing the tomatoes.
• Tear in the stale bread, stir, then leave to simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes, or until thick and delicious.
• Finely grate and stir in the Parmesan, then taste and season to perfection.
• Dish up, sprinkle over the reserved baby basil leaves and drizzle each bowlful with 1 tablespoon of good extra virgin olive oil. Heaven.

TUSCAN BREAD AND TOMATO SOUP (PAPPA AL POMODORO)

Steps:

• If your bread is too hard to cut, douse it with water first. Then remove the crusts and cut into cubes. You should have about 7 cups.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have cooked down, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Stir the bread cubes into the tomatoes. Add the water, half the basil, and about 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and simmer, stirring and mashing the bread, for about 10 minutes, until the soup is thick, like oatmeal. Stir in the remaining basil, taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.

TUSCAN PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil, the red-pepper flakes, and bread; cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and stock, and season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bread has broken down and melded into the tomatoes, about 15 minutes (the soup will be thick).
• Remove from heat; stir in basil and cheese. Season with pepper. Serve drizzled with oil and sprinkled with cheese.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• In a 12-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until onion is translucent. Add a pinch of salt. Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down, about 5 minutes.
• Place the bread slices in a bowl and cover with 2 cups water. Tear the bread into rough pieces and add to tomato mixture. Add the remaining water from the bowl. Continue simmering until all the bread has absorbed as much liquid as possible, yielding a baby food-like consistency.
• Stir in the basil. Season, to taste, with pepper. Add extra-virgin olive oil, if desired. Let the soup continue simmering for 10 more minutes, then serve immediately in warmed soup bowls. Garnish, to taste, with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and squeeze the halves gently to remove the juice and seeds. Coarsely chop the tomatoes, removing the cores. Place in a food processor and process to a finely chopped but not a pureed consistency.
• Heat half the oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the onion and cook until soft but not brown. Stir in the garlic, saute briefly, then add the tomatoes. Cook about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and are thick.
• Soak the bread briefly in cold water, squeeze out the water, then crumble the bread into the tomato mixture. Mix, then add the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. The mixture should be thick.
• Serve at room temperature garnished with basil leaves and with the remaining olive oil drizzled over the top.

PAPPA AL POMODORO ALLA JAMIE OLIVER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180C/350°F.
• Prick cherry tomatoes, toss with one sliced clove of garlic and a quarter of the basil leaves.
• Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, put in a roasting tray and cook for 20 minutes.
• Heat more olive oil in a large pot, add remaining garlic and basil stalks, stir and gently fry for a minute until softened.
• Add tinned tomatoes, fill tin with water, add that.
• Break tomatoes up with spoon, boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
• Tear the bread into thumb sized pieces and add to pot, mix well, season to taste.
• Tear in the basil leaves and let soup sit on low heat for ten minutes.
• Remove roasted romatoes from tray and pour them into soup with their juices, basil, and oil from the tray.
• Stir soup, it should be a thick, silky, porridge-like texture (adjust with water if necessary.
• Remove from heat, add 6-7 tbsp olive oil.
• Serve with a little extra basil torn over the top.

PAPPA AL POMODORO / CLASSIC ITALIAN TOMATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender.
• Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 T salt, and 1 1/2 t pepper.
• Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer, partially covered for 45 minutes.
• MEANWHILE: Preheat oven to 375°F.
• TOPPING:.
• In a large bowl, put the reserved ciabatta bread cubes, pancetta and whole basil leaves in the bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat.
• On a lined sheet pan large enough for all ingredients, place the ingredients in a single layer, Be sure the basil leaves are flat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake until the cubes are toasted, pancetta crispy and basil leaves turn dark & crisp. This may take 15-20 minutes.
• Check on your soup. If the soup is too lumpy for you you can smash with a wooden spoon, potato masher or use a submersion blender to break up the bread cubes. Alternately you can puree in batches in a food processor or blender. Blend to desired consistency. I prefer a more rustic presentation.
• *Take care to only fill the blender or food processor 1/3 when you puree HOT soup.
• Turn up the heat to rewarm if necessary. At this point check for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper as needed.
• Stir in parmesan cheese, top with basil leaf, pancetta and bread cubes.
• Freezes well.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Finely chop onion and mince garlic. In a 4-quart heavy kettle heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion and garlic, stirring, until softened. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice, and chop. Stir tomatoes and reserved juice into onion mixture and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
• While tomato mixture is simmering, discard crust from bread and cut enough bread into 1-inch cubes to measure 2 cups. Add bread and broth to tomato mixture and simmer, stirring occasionally, until bread has absorbed liquid and soup is thick, about 40 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Wash leeks thoroughly and set aside. Scald tomatoes briefly in boiling water; let cool, then slip off skins with a knife. Cut tomatoes in half crosswise; seed by squeezing over a strainer set in a bowl to collect juice. Cut tomatoes into chunks; set tomatoes and juice aside.
• In a small non-reactive stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and leeks; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add tomatoes and juice. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are somewhat broken down and very juicy, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add bread; cook, stirring and breaking up the bread with a wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let stand to come to room temperature. Just before serving, stir in the torn basil. Drizzle each serving with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

PAPPA AL POMODORO

Steps:

• Chop about 2 cups (a couple of small mounds) of the bread and reserve the rest to pass at the table.
• Heat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup of the EVOO, 4 times around the pan, then add the sprig of rosemary and the garlic. Peel and halve the onion and, using a box grater or other hand-held grater, grate the onion directly into the soup pot. Sauté the mixture for 5 minutes, then remove the rosemary stem. Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes and bring it to a bubble. Add the bread chunks and stir until the bread has melted into the soup; the result is a soup-er thick consistency. Tear or shred the basil and stir it into the soup. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and ladle the soup into bowls. Top it with an extra swirl of EVOO, 1 tablespoon per bowl, and lots of shaved Parm or grated Pecorino Romano cheese.