Ricette #10 - Pappa al Pomodoro from LA STRADA DELLA NONNA
8th August 2012
This Zuppa is one of my favourite and yet is so quick and easy to prepare. It epitomises the "Cucina Povera", few ingredients, cooked simply but so flavourful!
Curious fact: this Tuscan favourite was known outsid eTuscany when Vamba (a florentine writer by the name of Luigi Bertelli) made it a centre page in his masterpiece "Il giornalino di Gian Burrasca" - For its Tv adaptation in the '60s a canzonetta song, interprated by Rita Pavone (1964) called "Viva la pappa col pomodoro" was created to open the show.
Ingredients
- 3 dried chillies (chopped)
- 20 ripe vine tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1 pint of passata
- drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 4 finely diced shallots
- basil
- Stale crystless white bread
Method
Peel and de-seed tomatoes and roughly chopped.
Gently sweat the shallots, garlic and chillies until soft.
Add tomatoes and warm through until tomatoes start to break. Add the passata. Season and finish with torn basil and chunks of crustless white bread. Drizzle with a good olive oil. It is as easy as that.
Gian