If you have booked a villa in Tuscany and are planning to vacation in the area during the hot summer months, then you are likely interested in enjoying your stay and your food, despite the heat. There are plenty of ways to do so but eating the right foods really helps and eating, in general, is one of the great pleasures of a holiday in Tuscany.
There are various delicious, light, and refreshing options for snacks, meals, and desserts that can be enjoyed by those who book a villa with pool in Tuscany during the summer months, from salads to cured meats to fish dishes to gelato, but how about a tasty and wholesome tomato soup?
Pappa al pomodoro is a tomato and bread-based soup that makes for a perfect starter or a light meal throughout most of the year and in summer, in particular, as it can be served hot, room temperature, or even chilled. A way of using stale bread, it is also cost-effective and eco-friendly. Along with the bread, the dish is composed of fresh tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, and other fresh ingredients to make something satisfying and tasty without being overly heavy or filling.
A long-standing Tuscan favourite, you can seek it out in restaurants while enjoying a stay in one of our vacation rentals in Tuscany or you can read on for a recipe so you can make it for yourself.
Like many dishes in Tuscany, Pappa al pomodoro is steeped in peasant cuisine traditions, ensuring that it is inexpensive to make, satisfying, and tasty and it is a particularly simple meal to prepare. Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Ingredients
Serves two
1/2 a loaf of stale bread
1kg of fresh Florentine-style tomatoes
8 cloves of Garlic (more if you wish)
Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil
Vegetable stock
Fresh basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
1. Briefly soften the bread in some water. Be careful not to allow it to become soaked through. You should be able to crumble the bread easily with your hands but you don’t want it to be water-logged and soggy.
2. Chop and then crush the tomatoes in a bowl and leave to one side. Prepare your stock.
3. Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir as it cooks, until golden. Now add the tomatoes and their juice, along with the basil sprigs, and bring to a simmer.
4. Add and stir in the bread. Stir in a ladle of the stock and combine the bread and tomato mixture. Allow to simmer and add more stock if necessary until the bread has softened to a custard-like consistency and the soup has thickened to a porridge-like consistency. This should take about 25 minutes.
5. Remove the basil sprigs and season with the salt and pepper to your personal taste.
6. Serve hot or, if the weather is warm, allow to cool to room temperature or put it in the fridge to chill.
7. Enjoy while staying in one of our amazing luxury villas in Tuscany this summer and trying to stay cool or keep it in mind for an autumn getaway in Tuscany and savour it while warm as a perfectly comforting fall dish – just like our holiday rentals in Tuscany, it’s really perfectly versatile, no matter when you want to travel or what you want from a vacation!
