From Our Pop-Up Cafe – A Recipe for Pappa al Pomodoro

A great recipe for using up a tomato – garden herb glut and leftover bread.

Ingredients – Serves 6 people

2 kg. of very ripe tomatoes

Sea salt and black pepper

250 g. sourdough bread, or any homemade white bread

A large bunch of fresh oregano, basil, lovage or thyme, or a mix of garden herbs, all finely chopped

Extra virgin olive oil.

Method

Firstly, blanch the tomatoes in a pan of boiling water. Remove all the skins and the seeds, then chop the flesh. Take one quarter of the tomato flesh and set aside in a bowl. Take the three quarters of the tomato flesh and puree it using a blender. Season it well with sea salt and pepper.

Take the tomato puree and put it into a heavy soup pot. Bring it to the boil. Break the bread into really small pieces, eliminating tough crusts if necessary. Add the broken bread pieces to the tomato puree, and stir well, so that the bread absorbs all the tomato liquid.

Simmer the soup gently, for about 40 minutes, until you can feel the bread pieces almost “melting” into the soup.

Add the chopped tomato flesh that you set aside earlier, and stir well. The heat should be fairly low. Add the herb leaves. Check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the soup into the serving bowls or mugs and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.

Serving tip: great with fresh mozarella. This soup tastes even better if you leave it overnight in the fridge and then re-heat.