Pappa al Pomodoro: The Best Italian Tomato Soup! (Tomato and Bread Soup Recipe)

By The Mediterranean Dish · 45 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Tear the ciabatta into small pieces (or cut it into 1-inch cubes). If the bread is very dry and stale, skip the toasting. Otherwise, spread it on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, toss and broil on high until golden, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the red pepper flakes and lower the heat to medium-low.
3. Add the garlic and onion and cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden without burning or turning dark brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. When the onions are lightly golden, break the San Marzano tomatoes from the can by hand into large chunks over the pan. Add the can juices and the basil sprigs, then turn the heat to high to bring to a simmer.
5. When simmering, stir in the bread and 2 cups of the broth. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding more broth if needed, until the bread is very soft and the soup is thick like porridge, about 20 to 30 minutes.
6. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Remove the basil sprigs, ladle into bowls, drizzle generously with olive oil, and garnish with chopped basil and torn bread.

Summarized from The Mediterranean Dish's video. Watch it for the details.