Pappa al Pomodoro

My most memorable meal in Italy is what is considered to be peasant food and was thrown together in a small kitchen nestled inside of a one bedroom – or really, studio – apartment in Florence, Italy. The evening began with three roses placed on a single bed, one for each of the girls that would be sleeping in it that night. No, it was not some sort of menage trios romance but rather a kind gesture from my sister’s Italian boyfriend at the time, welcoming my two friends and I into his home where we would be crashing for the next couple nights. This Italian man was not only a percussionist in a popular Italian reggae band, he was also a chef. A man that can pull out talents in both music AND food, well that’s quite a wonderful combination. While he did not serenade us that evening, he did cook what ended up being an incredibly simple and INCREDIBLY tasty meal. In Italy they call it Pappa al Pomodoro – essentially Tomato Bread Soup. The two key ingredients? Tomatoes and Bread. Though I was busy sipping on cheap Italian wine while he cooked and was not able to see how he made it, I fulfilled my role in completely devouring the soup, served with a simple green salad, Italian wine, and (likely) ended with gelato (isn’t that how every meal – i.e. breakfast, lunch, and dinner – is supposed to end? )

More than four years after my first and only taste of Pappa al Pomodoro, I inspired to try my own attempt at this simple soup. You may think, “tomatoes, bread, basil, garlic…simple, you can’t go wrong, can you?” however, this is the PERFECT example of how simple dishes beg for fantastic quality ingredients. If the tomatoes are sub-par, there is absolutely nothing that can cover that up. Thus, when I saw in our latest shipment two pounds of varied organic heirloom tomatoes – I was beckoned to pulverize them and turn them into a tasty Italian soup.

I used Mario Batali’s recipe on Food Network as my base - recipe link here and tweaked it – as always.

Pappa al Pomodoro

3 T. EVOO + more for drizzling
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
pinch red chili flakes
2 lb. tomatoes (mixed heirloom and cherry), peeled, seeded, roughly chopped, juices reserved
2 1/4 cups water
8 slices day-old ciabatta, cut about 1/2 in thick, torn into small pieces
1 cup basil, torn
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar
parmesan cheese, shredded

- Heat the EVOO in a pot over medium heat – I recommend using a ceramic dutch oven or something that will not react to the acid of the tomatoes. NOTE: Do not use aluminum or copper whenever you cook tomatoes – not even for the utensils. Aluminum is a reactive metal, so will react with the acid in tomatoes resulting in bitter flavors and duller colors for the tomatoes, and possibly damages and discoloration for your cookware.

- Add the onion, garlic, and chili flakes. Cook until the onion becomes translucent, making sure to stir every now and then to reduce any potential browning.

- Add the tomatoes and their juices (NOTE: to peel the tomatoes – just use a knife to put an X on the bottom of the tomatoes blanch them in some boiling water for about 30 seconds or until the skin start to peel up. Remove and let cool – then peeling will be easy!). Cook for about 7 minutes.

- Add the bread and water and keep simmering for another 10 minutes.

- Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.

- To serve, ladle the soup in bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (I used a mix of parmesan and pecorino romano) an drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Voila! Served with a simple green salad with balsamic vinegar.

I enjoyed this soup due to the fresh, simple ingredients. It wasn’t perfect though. I would recommend using either the canned (gasp!) San Marzano tomatoes or perhaps some cherry or plum tomatoes. The heirlooms were delicious but I’m not sure they were sweet and red enough for this soup. I added the balsamic vinegar at the end because I felt that it needed a touch of sweetness and the balsamic did the trick. I want to try this again with different tomatoes and see how it turns out. It’s a keeper recipe but is completely dependent on the quality of ingredients, so I’ll keep that in mind next time I see some beautiful bright red tomatoes in the store.