Garlic bread with dip
- Very easy
- 27 min
Bread, tomato, and water: 3 very simple ingredients for a first course of the Tuscan tradition that is absolutely delicious: tomato bread soup! Like panzanella, it's a perfect recipe for using up stale bread: it's made all year round with tomato passata or pulp, but it's also ideal for summer to be enjoyed warm or cold, using ripe tomatoes. This peasant-origin dish, of which we're sure every Tuscan family has its own version (some prepare the sauce first then add the bread, or some cook the bread from the beginning with the tomato), is always much appreciated by locals and tourists visiting beautiful Tuscany. It's incredible how so little can yield such a pleasant taste: it all lies in the choice of ingredients! Good bread, tomato, quality extra virgin olive oil, and a lot of fragrant basil!
Discover also other versions of the classic tomato bread soup:
If you love Tuscan cuisine, also try:
To prepare the Pappa al Pomodoro, in a saucepan gently heat the oil, peel the garlic and cut it into thin slices (if you don't like it, you can use it whole and unpeeled and remove it later). Fry lightly 1, then pour in the tomato pulp 2 and a bit of salt 3. Let it cook gently for a generous half hour.
Meanwhile, cut the bread into slices 4 and cut them in half 5. When the sauce is ready, dilute it with some water 6 (the amount of water can vary depending on the type of bread used).
Mix 7 and immerse the bread slices, breaking them up if necessary so as to fit them all in the pot 8. Press down lightly with the ladle 9.
Cover with a lid 10 and let it rest for about 15 minutes. After this time, the bread will be well softened and saturated with the sauce, add more water if necessary 11 and mix well 12. Put it back on the stove and let it cook gently for another 5 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached: the bread slices must completely disintegrate and create a "pulp".
Turn off the heat and adjust the salt 13, then finish with a generous drizzle of oil 14 and a few basil leaves 15.
Mix well and serve hot, warm, or cold, garnishing the dish with an additional drizzle of oil 17 and basil leaves 18!