1 hr 35 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
About the recipe
This is inspired by that Italian classic papa al pomodoro, a super-simple, rustic soup that celebrates the wonderful flavour of ripe seasonal tomatoes.
Ingredients
2kg ripe tomatoes
½ a bulb of garlic
2 red onions
1 pinch of dried oregano
olive oil
1 litre organic vegetable stock
a few sprigs of fresh basil
1 x 280g ciabatta loaf
red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
Top Tip
Ciabatta works brilliantly here, but this recipe is also a great way to make use of your stale bread – save it up and use it to make this soup, or turn it into delicious croutons.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
- Halve the tomatoes and place cut-side up in a large roasting tray.
- Break the garlic bulb into cloves. Peel and slice the onions into 3cm wedges, then scatter both into the tray.
- Sprinkle with oregano, season with sea salt and black pepper, then drizzle with oil. Roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the tomatoes are soft and sticky.
- Scrape everything from the tray into a large pan, picking out and squeezing in the garlic, discarding the skins.
- Pour in the stock, then roughly chop and add the basil stalks with most of the leaves.
- Cut the ciabatta loaf in half and tear one half into the soup. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put a griddle pan on a high heat. Slice the remaining ciabatta and griddle until lightly charred on both sides.
- Add 1 splash of red wine vinegar to the soup, then blitz with a hand blender until fairly smooth.
- Ladle into bowls, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and scatter with the
- remaining basil leaves, serving the griddled ciabatta on the side.
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