I love, LOVE mushy stuffing. It's my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner, if I haven't already mentioned that. I used to make Stove Top stuffing a lot in the old days. You know, to go with my instant mashed potatoes, canned green beans and pork chops. I don't eat that kind of food anymore (*sigh* I still like it I suppose but it's just so preserved and easy and boring).
Anyway, imagine my pleasant surprise to find that a recipe I tried out last night had all the goodness of mushy stuffing but was much tastier, and perhaps healthier...okay probably not really healthier. Really, I shouldn't compare this dish to stuffing. The only things they have in common are bread, liquid, onions and the necessary MUSH.
Robert handed me the recipe last week. Before he handed it over I saw the beautiful photo on the back page of the P-I. I know that whenever he's reading the paper and he's hungry he'll often hand me the paper after and casually say "that looks good" and point to something with a pretty photo. He never asks me to make it but he just knows I will. Sneaky.
Anyway, here's the recipe (in case you didn't catch it in that link above). They call it a soup but I got something thicker than soup. And I even used less bread than called for (my digital scale said I had just over 11 ounces). See my notes below.
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PAPPA POMODORO
Serves: 4
Prep time: 5-15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded and chopped (or 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes)
3/4 pound day-old Italian bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high until hot but not smoking. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf and red pepper flakes. Saute 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onions are softened. Add the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down.
Put the bread chunks in a bowl and pour the stock or water over it. Transfer the bread and any liquid in the bowl to the saute pan. Return to a simmer and cook 8 to 10 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed as much liquid as possible and is the consistency of soft baby food.
Stir in the basil and 3 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for another 10 minutes to develop the flavors. Remove the bay leaf.
Stir in the butter, then ladle the soup into serving bowls. Garnish with the cheese, then drizzle with remaining olive oil.
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Notes:
-When I make it again I'll either add a little less bread or a little more liquid or tomatoes; mine came out pretty sticky and stiff.
-I cooked this up in a giant cast iron dutch oven. I do not own a "large saute pan".
-Leave out the pepper flakes if you don't like the heat. I can't imagine it any other way, though!
-I used no-chicken broth. This is the first time I've used it. It really is a much better substitute for chicken broth compared to vegetable broth. Now I just need to find out what it's made of.
-I used canned crushed tomatoes.
-Use fresh basil! You'll need lots. Mmmm-mmmm!
-Required accompaniment: red wine.
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