Even though spring is officially here, I’m enjoying the last legs of wintery weather, and any excuse to make something hearty and warm such as this Italian tomato and bread soup. Pappa al Pomodoro is this soup’s official name. (Bless the Italians, they make everything sound so much fun.) It’s a rustic soup made with tomatoes, garlic, onions, stock, and of course, bread—preferably a good Italian loaf. Even though it’s a tomato soup, you don’t have to wait until August or September to enjoy it! Canned tomatoes, harvested at peak season, work beautifully in this soup. If it is summertime, toss in a handful of fresh basil leaves. If not, fresh parsley is lovely as a garnish, along with some grated Parmesan cheese. *To prepare fresh tomatoes for this recipe, cut out the stem end, score the bottoms with a sharp knife. Put into boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Place in ice water to quickly cool. Peel back the tomato peels and discard. Chop the tomatoes, saving as much of the juice as you can. Add the chopped tomatoes and the juice in place of the canned tomatoes in step 2. Add minced garlic and cook a minute more. Heat to a simmer and reduce heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. As you are cooking the tomato soup base, prepare the bread croutons in the next step. Let sit in pan without moving until one side is golden browned, then use tongs to turn over to another side. Once at least two sides have browned, remove from heat. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan and chopped fresh basil or parsley.
