This dish uses pretty much the same ingredients as the salad here to produce a very different result: a version of pappa al pomodoro – a coarse, Tuscan bread-and-tomato soup. Providing you’ve got good, tasty tomatoes and well-textured bread, you’ll have a wonderful soup – comforting, yet full of fresh flavours. When fragrant fresh tomatoes are not available you can make a very good version using tinned plum tomatoes.
Serves 4
2kg ripe large tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to finish
1 large garlic clove, sliced
About 300g slightly stale coarse-textured bread, such as sourdough, crusts removed, torn into pieces
A large handful of basil leaves, shredded
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the tomatoes into a large bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for 2 minutes. Take one out and nick the skin with a small, sharp knife; the skin should start to peel away easily. If not, return the tomato to the hot water for a minute or two longer. Drain and skin all the tomatoes. Quarter the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds and clinging juicy bits into a sieve over a bowl. Rub this through to extract the juice. Roughly chop the tomato flesh.
Heat the 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook gently for a minute or two without letting it colour. Add the chopped tomatoes and saved juice. Bring to a simmer and cook to reduce the sauce and intensify the flavour. You may need to do this only briefly, or it might take up to 30 minutes – it all depends on the flavour and juiciness of your tomatoes.
Stop when you have a thick, rich, savoury sauce.
Remove from the heat and, while still hot, add the torn-up bread. Stir until it has absorbed the liquid and is starting to soften. You should now have a thick, chunky sort of purée. If it seems very dry, add a little boiling water but go easy: the soup is supposed to be really thick – the kind you can eat with a fork! Add some salt and pepper and most of the basil. Stir again, cover and leave for 15–20 minutes (to allow the bread to soak up the tomato and soften). Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Serve warm, topped with the remaining basil and a generous slosh of very good extra virgin olive oil.
SWAP Instead of fresh tomatoes, use 3 x 400g tins plum tomatoes. Roughly crush the tomatoes in your hands before adding to the garlic and oil, along with the juice from the tins.