Soup of the day: pappa al pomodoro

It is hot. And when it is hot, you want soup or salad. Right? We do. But with soup, you have to make sure it’s a recipe from la familia, that goes back so far and still exists because everyone licks their fingers. That’s why we peeked at our big sister Franska.nl. An hour in the kitchen and you’ll be enjoying this pappa al pomodoro all week. Tastes like you’re sitting with your butt in Tuscany.

This is what you need, for 4 people

• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 large bunch of fresh basil
• 500 g ripe cherry tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cans (400 g each) of plum tomatoes
• 400 g old white bread or ciabatta

Here’s how to make it

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Chop the garlic finely, pluck the basil leaves and chop the stems finely.
3. Place the cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet, sprinkle one finely chopped clove of garlic over them and a quarter of the basil leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil, possibly a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Then put in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a large pan and add the rest of the garlic and basil stems. Sauté for 1 minute until everything is soft.
5. Pour in the cans of tomatoes and stir together. Fill one can with water and add that too. Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Break/cut the bread into pieces and add them to the soup. Then add the rest of the plucked basil leaves and let the soup simmer on low heat for a while longer.
7. Actually, most of the bread should be completely ‘dissolved’ in the soup.
8. Take the tomatoes out of the oven and add them to the pot with the soup.
9. Remove the pot from the heat, add 6 tablespoons of olive oil and divide the soup among 4 soup bowls.

Buon appetito!