Pappa al Pomodoro

Pappa al Pomodoro, or Tuscan Bread Soup, is a rich soup filled with veggies then topped with crispy basil, homemade croutons, and bacon.

Do you have a recipe (or seventy, like me) that you think about often? Like one that you can remember how good it tastes months after you've made it, which then causes you to need to make that recipe again...

Here's one of those recipes for me: Pappa al Pomodoro, or Tuscan Bread Soup.

This is a recipe that I posted in the first year of blogging and the photos aren't the worst, but I needed an excuse to make this soup again so I'm taking new photos.

The original recipe is based on Ina Garten's and I made quite a few changes that yielded equally as delicious results.

I know this because someone else actually made this soup for me many moons ago (following the recipe). That's when I first fell in love.

Then I saw the ingredients list and knew I could make some improvements: up the veggies (yay for nutrients), use bacon instead of pancetta (yay for my budget), ditch the fennel (can be hard to find in the grocery store), and cut back on the unnecessarily large amount of oil (half of a cup is quite excessive to saute a few veggies; two tablespoons is plenty!)

Since I've made this multiple times, I've all but memorized the recipe. I've made it with and without wine. I've skipped the topping (don't do that -- skip the bacon for a vegetarian/vegan version but don't skip the crunchy basil & homemade croutons). I've used fennel vs. fennel seeds + celery.

Below is the recipe that is my all-time favorite. Feel free to make substitutions as needed.

All that really matters is that you try this recipe and enjoy the beauty of tomato soup thickened with bread then topped with more bread.

It's lovely, and you'll have a hard time not craving this soup every time you buy a large bunch of fresh basil at the store, which is probably the reason almost my entire freezer is filled with this soup 😉

Pappa al Pomodoro

This Tuscan tomato and bread soup is one of my most favorite soups. It's comforting and great for cold and/or rainy nights. It's sure to make your day much much better.

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Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Meme

Ingredients

For the soup

• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 cups yellow onions chopped {2 onions}
• ▢ 2 cups carrots diced {5-6 carrots}
• ▢ 2 cups celery diced {6-8 stalks celery}
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced {about 4-6 cloves}
• ▢ 2 cups ciabatta diced, crusts removed
• ▢ 2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes
• ▢ 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
• ▢ ½ cup red wine
• ▢ 1 cup chopped fresh basil
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 oz., optional

For the topping

• ▢ 3 cups ciabatta bread diced {with crust}
• ▢ 2 slices center-cut bacon omit for vegetarian, chopped
• ▢ 24 whole fresh basil leaves
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

For the soup

• In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
• Add the onions, carrots, celery, and fennel seed, and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic & ciabatta cubes and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
• Using your hands or kitchen scissors, break/cut up the tomatoes. Stir them in to the pot along with the chicken stock or broth, wine, basil, salt, and pepper.
• Bring the soup to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook partially covered for about 45 minutes. Be sure to stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, make the topping:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Put the chopped bacon and diced ciabatta bread on a large baking pan. I like to keep them on separate sides.
• Stir the tablespoon of olive oil into the bread.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
• Take it out of the oven. Stir the bread and bacon together.
• Push the bread & bacon to one half of the pan.
• Put the basil leaves in one layer on the remaining half of the baking sheet.
• Bake another 10-15 minutes, until bacon is cooked, basil leaves are crispy & dark, and ciabatta is toasted.

Finish the soup:

• Once the soup is done, use an immersion blender to chop up some of the soup and incorporate the bread into the soup.
• Then, stir in the Parmesan cheese, if using.
• Serve each bowl with the topping. Enjoy!

Notes

*Parmesan cheese is delicious but not necessary. Omit for dairy-free.

*Can use 2 cups diced fresh fennel in place of the celery + fennel seeds. 

*Omit the wine if desired and use an equal amount of broth or water. 

*This recipe is adapted from this recipe in Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

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Meme