Give us this day yesterday’s bread: IMBB25
When Derrick announced the theme for IMBB25, I could hardly believe my luck. Since I bake bread almost weekly, what to do with stray bits of older bread is an important quest! I had just read an essay about a rather strange sad trip to Italy that began promisingly enough with a bowl of tomato bread soup and ended with a controlling, diet-conscious wife. (Now I ask you – who watches their weight while vacationing for the first time in Italy?) The writer waxed poetic about the bowl of soup and it sure sounded good to me.
Thus it was I rummaged around and found several recipes and came up with this version. It cannot, I repeat, CANNOT be any easier. Like all good, important recipes, it can be made quickly from things you have on hand.
And if you don’t sit back in your chair with a blissful sigh, well then find someone else to dine with.
Ingredients
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 medium onion cut into largish hunks
- 3-4 TB extra virgin olive oil
- 2 28oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 cups water
- 12-14 oz old or stale ciabatta cut into 1-2″ pieces
- 1 cup fresh basil chopped coarsely or torn up
- black pepper
- grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
Ultra easy : throw garlic into whirring processor and chop fine. when done, throw in the onion and chop fine, not pureed! Heat the oil in a large skillet or pot. When hot, add the garlic and onion. Saute until just translucent. (Be careful not to brown/burn!) While that’s cooking, drain the juice from the canned tomatoes (reserve the juice and add with the tomatoes in a bit) and chop the whole tomatoes in the same processor. Not too fine – you want some bigger hunks of tomato. Just think, in the summer you’ll make this with nice ripe tomatoes…
Add the tomatoes into the pot and bring to a boil, stirring as needed. Add the water and the bread and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the bread is nicely soaked and everything is mushy.
Throw in the basil after about 5 minutes or so.
The bread should be intact still but the whole mixture will have a nice almost gelatinous feel to it. Serve with a nice garnish of good cheese.
Eat simply and well and be happy!
An update: Not only did I dine well after preparing this soup for the second time, but my co-workers supped well today and proclaimed it a success. One had tasted a bit of my first try, made with dry basil. The change to fresh (just didn’t have any the first time) met with his approval. I found both to be pleasing but of course fresh is fresh.
