Lella’s Tuscan Bread Soup by Lucy Burdette

LUCY BURDETTE: When John and I visited the beautiful city of Siena, Italy last month, we very much enjoyed taking a cooking class with Scuola di Cucina di Lella. I’ve taken other classes in the past (Japan and France,) but this was a first for John. It’s a wonderful way to get a window into the culture of the place you are visiting.

For this class, we and five other American couples made a fantastic multi-course meal under the supervision of an Italian chef and the school’s owner, Lella. I will share the recipe for the Italian bread soup, and add some drool-worthy photos of the whole meal at the end. Lella called this ‘poor soup’, as it’s made of leftover dried bread so that nothing is wasted. This version is based on the recipe from Lella’s family.

Ingredients for the soup (serves 3-4 people)

Sliced stale Tuscan or ciabatta bread, about half a loaf (or sliced and toasted)

Approximately 1.5 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped, or canned chopped tomatoes

4-5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil 

2-3 cloves of garlic (see note) 

Handful of fresh basil

One chili pepper, or to taste (I used one jalapeno) 

Chicken, beef, or vegetable soup stock, amount as needed

Warm the broth in a pan while you prepare the rest of the soup. Put the oil, the seeded chili pepper, and the whole cloves of garlic in the pan. Now heat the oil up, making sure the heat is low enough so that the garlic stays white. Add the basil and continue to stir. Now add the very finely sliced bread and continue to mix using two wooden spoons as if you are mixing a salad. Keep cooking and stirring until the bread has absorbed all the oil and is brown. Add the tomatoes, cover completely with the hot broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Simmer for about an hour on low heat. Remove the large pieces such as the garlic cloves, basil leaves, chunks of tomatoes, and bread, and put them through a food mill, or blender. Add the pureed ingredients back into the soup.

Note: The chef used elephant garlic, which is milder than the dried garlic we usually find in our grocery stores. I used the garlic John grew in our garden this summer. And ps, I think I needed more tomato and less bread, though it was very tasty!

 

During this meal, we also enjoyed homemade pici pasta (not as easy as it might look!)with  fresh tomato sauce, a pork loin stuffed with wonderful seasoning, potatoes roasted in the pork juices and wine, and panna cotta with caramel sauce. To die for! If you are lucky enough to visit Siena, do consider taking a class from the cooking school.

If you were planning to take a trip anywhere, based on what you would cook and eat, where would it be? 

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USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. Join her mailing list right here.

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