Pappa al pomodoro - Tomato bread soup

Pappa al pomodoro
Tomato bread soup

Excerpted from Cucina Povera by Giulia Scarpaleggia (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2023.

Pappa al pomodoro is one of the most representative recipes of the Tuscan Cucina Povera. The main ingredients are stale Tuscan bread - a bread which, according to the rest of Italy, is bland, as it is made without salt -, and fresh tomatoes, but don’t worry, a can of good peeled tomatoes works just as fine.
Pappa al pomodoro differs from area to area: in Florence, it is bright red, as the bread is cooked with tomato puree and a battuto of minced onion, carrot, and celery as a flavour backbone. For a simpler version, substitute the vegetable battuto with finely sliced leeks.

In Siena and in the Chianti area, pappa al pomodoro is paler, as you usually use just a few pieces of fresh tomatoes along with stale bread, while garlic is preferred over onion. In some households, a few cloves are added to the soup. As for the aromatics, fresh basil is the most used herb, but near Pisa, they tend to substitute it with nepitella, or mentuccia, a delicate wild mint.

In the summer, when ripe tomatoes cram the market stalls, you can replace canned tomatoes with the same amount of fresh tomatoes. You can quickly peel them so that your pappa al pomodoro will be much more velvety, and you won't find the tomato skins underneath your teeth.
Plunge the tomatoes for 30 seconds in a pot of hot boiling water, then move them with a slotted spoon into a bowl of cold water. This will help you skin the tomatoes. Once peeled, follow the recipe.

The result is a thick, dense, porridge-like soup, glistening with extra virgin olive oil and perfumed with the heady smell of basil. It is a comfort food for many people in Tuscany, one of those dishes that wake up childhood memories and soothe like a hug.

Serves 4 to 6

One (28 ounces/793 gram) can whole peeled tomatoes
½ cup/120 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
4 thick slices of Tuscan bread, about 12.5 ounces/ 350 grams
1 tablespoon/20 grams tomato paste
2 cups/475 ml warm water
Fine sea salt
A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn

Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and crush them with your hands. In a large pot over low heat, heat ¼ cup of olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, reserving the bowl, increase the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to collapse in a sauce, about 15 minutes.

While the tomatoes cook, break the stale bread slices into big chunks, and place them in the reserved bowl. Add cold water to cover, then let stand soaked up enough water to become soft again, about 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the water and squeeze the pieces between your hands to remove all the excess water and crumble them into the tomato sauce. In a mixing cup, stir together the tomato paste and two cups of hot water until combined and add to the pot.
Season with 2 teaspoons salt, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about ten minutes, stirring vigorously from time to time with a whisk to give the pappa al pomodoro its typical creamy texture.

Remove from the heat, add the torn basil leaves and remaining ¼ cup olive oil and stir to combine. Season to taste with additional salt.
Let stand at room temperature for at least an hour, allowing the flavours to mingle, then serve at room temperature or reheat gently over low heat and serve warm.