pappa al pomodoro

I can't get enough of my Ina Garten cookbook Adam got me for Christmas, Back to Basics. EVERYTHING I've made has been simply delicious! Here is a soup I made for some friends and family recently, that I wanted to share. It was a big hit, so I thought some of you might like it, too.

It goes like this . . .

Cook: 1 hr 30 min

Total: 2 hr 0 min

Serves: 6

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1/2 cup good 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 ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans good Italian plum tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 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:

nocoupons

• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes
• 2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
• 24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
• Salt and pepper

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 ciabatta 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 chicken stock, 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 ciabatta cubes, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. 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 and taste for seasoning. Serve hot sprinkled with the topping and drizzled with additional olive oil.

La Pastina

So, there was supposed to be a picture with this post. But, I got so excited about eating it that I totally forgot to take a picture. Then, I went to look online for a photo and came across this recipe that not only looks amazing, but is totally going to overshadow my simple recipe here. Still, the basic recipe is great to know because it's a starting place for a whole lot of yummy variety.

For those of you who don't know, I was a missionary in Italy for a year and a half. I'm no Italian, but I like to think I know my way around pasta if only slightly better than the average American. Pastina literally means little pasta. It's mostly a kid's meal, but adults eat it too. It is soooo good when it's cold outside. And it's even better when you're sick. The ingredients are simple and easy on the body and still a bit nutritious.

You can find pastina in the pasta isle, in baggies usually, or little boxes. My favorite shape is stars, but you'll also find orzo and little ditalini (tiny circle tubes).

To make pastina, you want 1 part pasta, 2 parts water. If you're making it for yourself, use 1/2 cup pastina and 1 cup water. Bring the water to a boil, adding a bouillon cube and a healthy drizzle of olive oil while the water is heating up. When boiling, add the pasta. Stir, stir, stir until the pasta is cooked. These little guys are really good at sticking to the bottom of the pot. If it's getting toward the end, and the water is almost gone (it will look like the pasta itself is boiling, there won't be excess water) but the pasta isn't quite cooked, feel free to add more water a bit at a time until the noodles are done. Taste it towards the end and add a little salt if it needs it, but it usually doesn't. Pour it into a bowl, add as much parmesan cheese as you like, and enjoy! It's good, easy comfort food.

And there's a lot you can do with this basic recipe. There's really no limit, as the link above so effectively demonstrates. A few other simple ideas:
- when you add the pasta, drop in some frozen peas.
- if you want more of a soup, use less pasta or more water...duh.
- when it's done, add diced tomato, fresh mozzarella, and a little basil.
- add a little bit of canned diced tomato with juice and some white beans and whatever italian herbs you like (I'm always partial to basil).

This is so simple and easy, I really kind of feel silly posting it here. But, it tasted so good tonight (I'm feeling a little under the weather) and it's something I always come back to...Hope you like!