For those of you familiar with pappa al pomodoro, you know that it is a Tuscan bread soup. And for those of you who are part of the gluten-free community, this would normally render this soup off-limits. But there is a wonderful glory in cooking for yourself. You can tweak the ingredients as necessary to fit into your diet.
This is a recipe that I got from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, and I tweaked to not only be gluten-free, but also vegetarian. Now, I’m sure it is a sin to prepare this recipe by using a gluten-free sandwich bread instead of a fine, rustic, Italian bread (such as ciabatta), but when you have food allergies, you learn to adapt. The best part is, it substituted brilliantly.
Recipes are meant to be changed, enhanced, and tweaked, which is why I love playing around with them so much. This is a hearty, filling, fantastic soup. Perfect for these winter months.
Recipe: Gluten-Free Pappa Al Pomodoro
Servings: 6-8
Time: Prep 30 minutes; Cook 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
- 1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (3 carrots)
- 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced (1 1/2 cups)
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
- 3 cups (1-inch) diced Rudi’s Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread, crusts removed
- 2 (28-ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes (I used Muir Glen)
- 4 cups vegetable stock or broth (I used Imagine Low Sodium Vegetable Broth)
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
For the topping:
- 3 cups (1-inch) diced Rudi’s Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread
- 15 roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender.
Add the Rudi’s Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread cubes and cook for 5 more minutes.
Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the vegetable stock/broth, red wine, basil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
For the topping, place the cubes of Rudi’s Gluten-Free Mulitgrain Bread and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and toss well.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. (Note: The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp, which is perfectly fine.)
Reheat the soup, if necessary, beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
Serve hot, sprinkled with the topping, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and drizzled with additional olive oil.
~*~*~
This was a very filling, but highly flavorful soup. The bread, along with the tomatoes and diced vegetables give it a hearty feel, along with a rustic look. Add additional seasoning if you feel it needs it, but I didn’t season the Rudi’s bread cubes when they went into the oven, and they were fantastic.
Originally, I roasted the sun-dried tomatoes with the basil and gluten-free bread cubes, but that didn’t work out. I roughly chopped fresh ones and sprinkled them on top with the oven-roasted topping and it was fantastic.
If you want a filling, delicious Italian soup…I highly recommend Pappa Al Pomodor0…gluten-free and vegetarian style.
It’s a delicious winter treat.
The Celiathlete 