Where to eat the best pappa al pomodoro in Italy and how to prepare it? Let's find out more about a traditional Italian dishes and its curiosities.
The Italian cuisine is full of delicious dishes and children of the history of past centuries. One of these is the pappa al pomodoro, a typical dish of the Tuscan region, owes its origins to the city of Siena. As often happens, this dish comes from the Middle Ages and comes from the peasant custom. Poor dish, made with simple ingredients that once even the less wealthy could afford.
If you are a tourist who is in Tuscany, just enter one of the restaurants or taverns of cities such as Siena or Florence, to enjoy an excellent pappa al pomodoro. But in this article, we will also tell you how to cook it, comfortably, at home. The tomato soup can be enjoyed both in summer (at room temperature) and in winter. Let’s find out everything you need to know!
The ingredients
First you need to start with the ingredients that will be essential for the realization of the dish. The quantities below are for two persons.
For a good tomato soup, you must have:
- Tomato puree 800 grams
- Stale bread 300 grams
- Vegetable broth 1 liter
- Extra virgin olive oil 35 grams
- Garlic 2 cloves
- Sugar 1 pinch
- Salt up
- Black pepper
- Basil 1 bunch
Once in your kitchen there will be all these ingredients you can proceed to the actual preparation of pappa al pomodoro.
How to prepare pappa al pomdoro
The preparation begins with the vegetable broth that must be heated. If you do not know how to cook it, you can also find it ready-made among the supermarket shelves while maintaining excellent quality. Secondly, take some bread, Tuscan if you have it, otherwise another type may be fine. For information, Tuscan bread is the one without salt. Cut the bread into slices and place it on a drip tray, bake it at 200 ºC for a few minutes.
In the meantime, peel a garlic and divide it into pieces, it will serve to crumple it on the bread. After about five minutes you can extract the bread from the oven and, in fact, pass the garlic clove over it.
Always take the slices of bread and place them on a pan, placed on the fire (or even an induction plate, of course). In addition to the bread, pour the tomato sauce and vegetable broth into the pan. As a last touch, before covering it with a lid, add the sugar.
Now you just must let it cook for 40-45 minutes, over low heat.
Remove the dish from the heat and finish seasoning with salt and pepper. Well, you’ve come to the end of this recipe and you’re ready to serve a great tomato soup! All that remains is the final garnish: that is, sprinkle everything with two or three basil leaves. This will give more freshness to your dish.
Like many dishes, there are some variations. Some prefer not to put bread in the oven, but to deposit it directly in the pan. In this way a remarkable crunchiness is maintained. In addition, in some recipes it is also used onion instead of garlic, as an ingredient to give more flavor to the dish. On the origins, whether onion or garlic is best suited there is a debate, which has never been defined. We can advise you to try it to your personal taste.
The conservation
Like any dish you cook, it is often useful to keep it in the refrigerator for a few days. Maybe you wanted to cook a larger portion and the next day can be a great meal, even to take to work. But remember, tomato gruel can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days. Of course, being a fresh food, consisting of tomato, it must be closed in an airtight container.
Where to eat pappa al pomodoro
As written above, if you are visiting Italy and in particular the Tuscany Region, you will be curious to know where to eat this dish. The dish is very simple to make and can be found on the menus of many restaurants throughout the region. The season during which it is usually prepared more, is summer, but also in winter you can eat an excellent tomato soup.
If you are in Florence, tired from visiting the various museums or gardens, and want to refresh yourself a little with this dish, you will just walk the streets of the historic center and browse the menus of restaurants, which many overlook their windows on the street. Similarly, if you visit the city of Siena, maybe after some nice photos in Piazza del Campo, you can find restaurants and taverns that prepare it. So, you just have to choose either you will be the chef who will prepare this delicious dish, or you will be served properly in the cities of our Bel Paese.
And finally... some curiosity on the plate
The dish of pappa al pomodoro has become famous even beyond the regional borders of Tuscany. Indeed, it has been mentioned on two occasions. In the first case, we talk about tomato soup in 'Il Giornalino di Gianburrasca', made by the Florentine writer, Vamba. In the second case, it was the singer Rita Pavone who brought it to fame with the song, ‘Viva la pappa col pomodoro’.
These two quotes will make you look good while you enjoy it with your friends at the table.
