Tomato Bread Soup
Ingredients
spray olive oil and bottled olive oil
1 1/2 to 2 C stale, crusty white bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large or 2 small onions, diced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 14oz cans peeled plum tomatoes*
3 T fresh basil, chopped (or 1 T dried)
1 1/2 quarts beef stock**, warmed
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. On a baking sheet, spray bread cubes with olive oil and toast in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes, or until brown. Keep an eye on this as they can burn quickly. Alternatively, you could fry them with a bit of oil in the soup pot and save washing an extra pan, but I think the oven toasting makes them better suited to soak up the soup flavors.
2. Heat some olive oil in a soup pot. Saute onion until soft. Add garlic and saute another minute or two until fragrant.
3. Stir in tomatoes and basil. Using kitchen shears, cut up tomatoes into bite-sized chunks. Add bread cubes and cook over low heat for a few minutes to let bread absorb flavors.
4. Add stock, bring to boil, turn heat to low and simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Serve with an additional swirl of really good olive oil if you like.
Notes
* The original recipe calls for plum tomatoes. I have used diced and it still tastes great, though it is not as rustically chunky, but saves the extra step of cutting up the tomatoes.
** Can be made vegan by using water or vegetable stock instead of beef stock.
Credits: Barnes & Noble: The Cook's Encyclopedia of Soup, contributing editor Debra Mayhew. This was published in 1999 and seems only to be available from second-hand book sellers. ISBN 0760730962
Tags: Soup, tomatoes, vegan