Tomato Bread Soup

Uh, sorry 'bout disappearing for six months. I was holed up studying for my board exams. However, the nonsense is over now. Back into the kitchen, right? I actually have Nick Schicker to thank for the motivation for this entry. He recently moved to Japan and started a new blog. You should check it out at www.extendedadventure.blogspot.com. Anyway, he's linked to mine and I would hate to embarrass him in front of his hipster Japanese friends with an outdated blog.

At work, around 5pm, my brain decided to clock out. Instead of leaving like a normal person, I turned to mindless internet surfing. I checked my RSS reader and revisited a great food blog called The Wednesday Chef. Her most recent post took us through the recipe I tried today, Tomato Bread Soup (Bill Telepan, New York Times). I'm surprised I even tried this recipe because I HATE TOMATO SOUP. However, I realized that my only real experience with tomato soup is the canned kind. I scanned the ingredients and thought what Andrea later verbalized, "One can't go wrong with this combination of ingredients." It's true. Check them out.

3 pounds plum tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sourdough bread, without crusts, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup grated ricotta salata
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves

I guarantee the majority of you have these ingredients at home. No trip to the store needed. Plus, we all know that it is "what the heck do we do with all these tomatoes" time and this recipe is a perfect way to burn through your garden bounty. Note the recipe calls for ricotta salata. Do you think any store in Lincoln has this stuff? No. Should I be surprised? Not really. Even Lincoln's famous Leon's Food Market didn't have it. This self-proclaimed "specialty food store" has , so far, been one disappointment after another for me, but that is for another blog entry. Back to the food. I used asiago instead of ricotta salata. (Be sure to hide the asiago from your wife, if she's part mouse.)

Play Tegan and Sara's new album The Con. Core and quarter plum tomatoes. Place tomatoes in food processor and pulse to chop. Keep it chunky. Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft, but not browned. Add tomatoes and their juices. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a slow simmer and cook 45 minutes, covered, stirring from time to time. (Andrea and I went for a quick bike ride.) When the soup has simmered for 45 minutes, stir the bread cubes (less is more) into the soup and simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Check the seasoning. Serve hot or at room temperature, with grated cheese and minced basil strewn on each serving.

We took dinner outside. Flavor: Garlicky Sweet. Texture: Mushy, not soupy. I used too much bread. Will use less next time. It absorbed the majority of the broth. Andrea gave it two thumbs up. I will definitely make it again as it was a very easy meal with few ingredients, but a lot of flavor. We forgot to serve it with wine, but will next time. Dornenburg and Page (2006) recommend a Pinot Noir with cooked tomatoes.