Day old bread, left over tomato puree, a piece of string cheese, some garlic, fresh herbs and you are in business. Bread soup was created along the same lines as bread puddings, stratas, etc as a way to use up ingredients that might not be as fresh as the day before. It so simple, it hardly needs a recipe, but we are a full service blog here, so we are providing one today. Got five minutes? Dinner is served.
Bread Soup
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes or tomato sauce or pureed tomatoes
½ cup water or to desired consistency
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
4 cups day old French or Italian bread, torn by hand into bite-sized pieces
½ cup basil leaves, torn by hand
1 oz low fat mozzarella, cut into small pieces (or two string cheese sticks)
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for one minute. Add red pepper flakes and stir for 30 seconds. Pour the tomatoes into the pot and stir to combine. Add the water and season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil, add the bread pieces, and toss to coat evenly. Stir in the basil leaves, and remove pot from heat. Divide mozzarella evenly among four bowls, top with soup. Garnish with extra basil, if desired, and serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings (about 1 ½ cups of soup)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog through TasteSpotting. I actually have a twin sister too and we are both into cooking! What fun :)
In the line of my duties as SENIOR ADVISER to SeriousEats website, I stumbled across your "bread soup" post.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought you were kidding. But then I decided you are serious about this "soup."
your "soup" to my 450-pound boyfriend "Big Bear" I would probably end up in the hospital again.
Some immigrants to America have some very strange eating habits.
this reminds me of pappa al pomodoro, which I first had in florence. in fact, it's basically the same thing and sooo yummy!
ReplyDelete