Mama's Cuisine Menu: Tomato and Bread Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)

It’s drizzly and cool outside my window. Not unusual for Northern California in April, and welcome, given the severe drought we’ve been having this year.

Even though spring is officially here, I’m enjoying the last legs of wintery weather, and any excuse to make something hearty and warm such as this Italian tomato and bread soup.
Pappa al Pomodoro is this soup’s official name. (Bless the Italians, they make everything sound so much fun.) It’s a rustic soup made with tomatoes, garlic, onions, stock, and of course, bread—preferably a good Italian loaf.

Even though it’s a tomato soup, you don’t have to wait until August or September to enjoy it! Canned tomatoes, harvested at peak season, work beautifully in this soup.
If it is summertime, toss in a handful of fresh basil leaves. If not, fresh parsley is lovely as a garnish, along with some grated Parmesan cheese.

Tomato and Bread Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro) Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Yield: Serves 6

Given that the primary ingredient in this soup is tomato, the quality of tomatoes you use is vital to the taste of the soup. Use a good quality canned tomato such as a San Marzano or Muir Glen. If using fresh tomatoes, use very ripe, in-season tomatoes.

Ingredients

2 cups diced yellow onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes (or about 4 pounds of fresh, ripe tomatoes, that are blanched, peeled, and chopped*)
3 bay leaves
2 cups of chicken stock
2 more Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups of cubed rustic bread, 1 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 to 3 thick slices of Italian loaf), day old is best
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt, less or more to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil or parsley for garnish

*To prepare fresh tomatoes for this recipe, cut out the stem end, score the bottoms with a sharp knife. Put into boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Place in ice water to quickly cool. Peel back the tomato peels and discard. Chop the tomatoes, saving as much of the juice as you can. Add the chopped tomatoes and the juice in place of the canned tomatoes in step 2.