Hearty and flavorful, this Italian tomato bread soup (papa al pomodoro) is made with crusty bread, tomatoes, garlic, onions, broth, and olive oil.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
It’s rainy and cool outside my window. Not unusual for Northern California in April and welcome given the severe drought we’ve had this year.
Pappa al Pomodoro is the official name of this soup. (Thank goodness to the Italians, they make everything sound so funny.) It’s a rustic soup made with tomatoes, garlic, onions, broth and of course bread – good Italian bread is best.
Although it’s a tomato soup, you don’t have to wait until August or September to enjoy it! Canned tomatoes, harvested in peak season, work beautifully in this soup.
If it’s summer, throw in a handful of fresh basil leaves. If not, fresh parsley makes a great garnish, along with some grated Parmesan cheese.
More hearty tomato soups to try
- Simple tomato soup
- Roasted Tomato Soup with Chipotle
- Roasted eggplant and tomato soup
- Tomatoes, kidney beans, bacon soup
- Tomato tortellini soup with Italian sausage
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Tomato Bread Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)
Since the main ingredient in this soup is tomatoes, the quality of the tomatoes used is crucial to the taste of the soup. Use a good quality canned tomato like San Marzano or Muir Glen. If using fresh tomatoes, use very ripe, seasonal tomatoes.
*To prepare fresh tomatoes for this recipe, cut off the stem end and score the bottom with a sharp knife. Put in boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Place in ice water to cool quickly. Peel and discard the tomato skins. Chop the tomatoes, reserving as much of the juice as possible. Add the chopped tomatoes and juice instead of the canned tomatoes in step 2.
ingredients
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2 cups rolled yellow onion
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4 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oildivided (2 tablespoons and 2 tablespoons)
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5 cloves garlicchopped
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2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes (or about 4 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and chopped*)
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3 bay leaves
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2 cups chicken broth
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1 1/2 cups diced rustic bread, 1 1/2-inch cubes (approx 2 to 3 thick slices Italian bread), one day old is best
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1 teaspoon dried oregano
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1/2 teaspoon kosher saltless or more to taste
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Freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil or parsley for garnish
method
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Sauté onions and garlic:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and cook slowly until tender and beginning to color, about 10-12 minutes.
Add chopped garlic and cook a minute more.
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Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaves, and oregano and let simmer:
Add the tomatoes to the saucepan with the onions, using your hand to mash them while adding them to the saucepan. Discard any tough stem ends or loose tomato skins. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, and dried oregano.
Heat to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Boil 20 minutes.
While you are cooking the tomato soup base, prepare the bread croutons in the next step.
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To toast the croutons on the stove:
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the diced bread to the pan. Brush with the oil and spread the cubes in a single layer.
Let it sit in the pan without stirring until one side is golden brown, then use tongs to flip it over to the other side. Once at least two sides are browned, remove from the heat.
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Add croutons to the soup:
Once the tomatoes have cooked for 20 minutes, add the lightly browned croutons to the soup. Boil 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pan. Leave to rest for 10-15 minutes.
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Puree:
Remove the bay leaves. Roughly puree the soup with a hand blender or hand blender (about half of the soup, leaving a few pieces).
Garnish with freshly grated parmesan and chopped fresh basil or parsley.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 159 | calories |
| 7g | Fat |
| 22g | carbohydrates |
| 6g | protein |
