Pappa al pomodoro

With all the coronavirus madness going on this week, I’m craving easy, simple comfort food. For me, that means warm soups, cheese, and carbs. Lots and lots of carbs.

This humble Pappa al pomodoro, or Tuscan tomato-bread soup hits the spot. It combines chunks of crusty toasted bread, fragrant basil and garlic, and creamy tomato soup.

It’s a quick, semi-homemade one-pot meal and can easily be made pantry friendly. Just use canned tomatoes instead of fresh and dried basil instead of fresh.

Make this for a quick weeknight meal and pair it with a glass of Chianti.

Ingredients

• 32 ounces boxed or canned tomato soup
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (2 for onions, 2 for bread)
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (can sub dried)
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup canned or fresh diced tomatoes
• 1/2 loaf day-old bread, torn into 1 inch chunks
• Fresh basil for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Celsius
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and onion. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. In the meantime, on a large foil-lined baking sheet, toss bread in 2 remaining tablespoons olive oil. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until bread is golden brown and well toasted.
5. Add tomato soup, peppers and basil to garlic-onion mixture. Using an immersion blender, blend ingredients until smooth.
6. Add in tomatoes, pepper, and salt, if desired. Simmer together for 5 minutes.
7. Stir in toasted bread chunks and let sit for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Note: If you’re not serving all the soup in one sitting, keep the bread separate from the soup mixture and stir it in once you’ve heated the soup, just before serving.