Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe
Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe – When tomatoes are abundant and bursting with juices, it’s time for the simple, belly-warming Tuscan porridge Pappa al Pomodoro.
For this version of this classic Tuscan tomato and bread dish, start by grating the tomatoes, which quickly reduced their flesh to pulp without any need to peel or chop them.
Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe – After gently sautéing sliced garlic cloves in olive oil, add the pulp, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, basil sprigs, water, and thinly sliced rustic bread.
Adding water ensured that the dish didn’t end up too dry, and thinly slicing rather than cubing the bread helped it break down and soften quickly and evenly.
After cooking, covered, at a vigorous simmer, the bread will be completely softened and the Pappa al Ponodoro will have thickened.
Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe – Finishing the dish with more oil, along with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese, contributed richness and a vegetal brightness to this luscious, velvety, and warming mixture.
Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe
Use the ripest in-season tomatoes you can find.
Do not use plum tomatoes; the dish will be too dry.
For the bread, use a round rustic loaf with a chewy, open crumb; fresh or stale bread will work here.
Slice the bread as thin as possible; the slices needn’t be perfect or fully intact since they break down during cooking.
Stirring, especially near the end of cooking, helps prevent the pappa al pomodoro from sticking.
Serve this hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe – Step by Step Instructions
Place box grater in medium bowl.
Rub cut surface of tomatoes against large holes of grater until tomato flesh is reduced to pulp (skins should remain intact).
Discard skins. (You should have about 4 cups pulp.)
Combine oil and garlic in large Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until garlic is golden at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add tomato pulp, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, water, basil sprigs, and bread (tear slices to fit in pot as necessary), and stir to combine so all bread is moistened.
Bring to boil over high heat.
Adjust heat to medium; cover; and simmer vigorously, stirring and mashing bread occasionally, until bread is fully softened and broken down, 15 to 18 minutes (mixture will not be completely smooth).
Off heat, discard basil sprigs.
Divide among serving bowls, drizzle with extra oil, and sprinkle with chopped basil.
Serve Pappa al Pomodoro, passing Parmesan separately.
Pappa al Pomodoro Recipe Ingredients
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, halved through equator
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 cups water
2 sprigs fresh basil, plus 2 tablespoons chopped
6 ounces thinly sliced country-style bread
Grated Parmesan
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