Pappa al pomodoro

This is a really traditional dish of Florentine cooking, and as soon as I will describe that to you you will for sure recognize the features it has in common with other traditional recipes: old bread and extra virgin olive oil. I must admit that this dish was almost not known outside Florence, until it was cited in a TV series in the 60s. This corresponded to the “internationalization” of the dish outside of the Florentine walls, even though it remains a traditional florentine dish. I must admit that I have tried to make “Pappa al pomodoro” using non Tuscan bread, and the result has been by far better than for example with ribollita or Panzanella. I also would like to add that there is no unique way of preparing a proper Pappa. Some prepare it with Garlic, some with onions, etc. I will describe here my way of preparing int and also some tricks for preparing it without proper Tuscan bread. However is someone would add comments or describe his/her way of preparing it… comments are more than welcome.

The recipe for 4 persons:

1 leek

1 onion

1 chilly pepper

8 ripen tomatoes

500 g of old Tuscan bread

1 liter of vegetable broth (no meat broath please!!!

8-10 leaves of basil

Salt and pepper to taste.

The dish is better prepared in a Terracotta pan. Finely chop the leek and the onion and fry together with the chilly in plenty of olive oil. When ready add the diced tomatoes and cook with the lid on for 15-20 min. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste and remove from heat.

Cut the bread in cubes around 3-4 cm wide and put in the pan adding around ½ of the hot broth. Close the lid and leave for 5-10 min. As the amount of broth to be added depends on the bread , add the broath until the bread is tender. At this point stir with a wodden spoon and add the finely cut basil leaves. The result should be a thick pap. Serve with some extra virgin olive oil.

In case you don’t have Tuscan bread at hand take some old white bread and fry it in extra virgin olive oil before using it in the Pappa as described abroad. The result will not be 100% perfect but it is a good alternative!

Some prepare the tomato sauce with garlic only, but I think that the result is a little bit heavy!