Pappa al Pomodoro
Tuscany's tomato-bread soup: stale bread melted into garlicky tomatoes and good oil. Poverty cooking, rich result.
Ingredients
- 800 g Canned tomatoes
- 4 slices Country bread
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 4 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 10 leaves Basil (optional)
- 30 g Hard cheese (optional)
- ½ tsp Sugar (optional)
Method
- Slice the garlic cloves thinly.
- Tear the bread into rough bite-size chunks.
- Sizzle the sliced garlic gently in most of the oil in a soup pot over medium-low heat until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, and sugar and simmer over medium heat, stirring now and then, for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the torn bread and a splash of water and simmer, stirring, until the bread collapses into the soup, about 10 minutes.
- Tear in the basil and rest the soup 5 minutes off the heat — it thickens as it sits.
- Serve the soup warm (never boiling-hot) with the last of the oil and the cheese grated over each bowl.
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About Pappa al Pomodoro
Pappa al Pomodoro is Tuscany's tomato-and-bread soup, another masterpiece of frugal Italian cooking in which stale country bread is melted into garlicky tomatoes and good olive oil. Where panzanella keeps the bread in the salad realm, here it collapses entirely, thickening the pot into something between a soup and a porridge — the name itself nods to 'pap' or mush. The whole point is that humble, near-discarded ingredients yield a comforting, deeply savoury result.
The flavour is built on slowly sizzled garlic that stays fragrant rather than browned, tomatoes simmered with a pinch of sugar to round their acidity, and a generous pour of extra-virgin olive oil that carries everything. As the torn bread breaks down it lends the soup its characteristic thick, spoon-coating body, and a rest off the heat lets it thicken further. It's meant to be served warm rather than scalding, finished with the last of the oil and torn basil, and it eats as happily at room temperature in summer as it does hot. Filling and high in volume, it's honest, satisfying food that leans on the quality of just a few things done well.
Pappa al Pomodoro: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Pappa al Pomodoro?
A serving has about 380 calories — 8.4g protein, 41.4g carbs, 20.5g fat, 6.2g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is Pappa al Pomodoro gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Country bread. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Do I need every ingredient to make Pappa al Pomodoro?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out basil, hard cheese, sugar — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Pappa al Pomodoro make?
This recipe makes 3 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.