bread soup

One of my favourite things to do on a Saturday morning is to get up and head down to my local bakery and grab a nice fresh loaf of bread, come home fill the little moka with coffee, sit down and enjoy a thick slice of fresh bread topped with butter and homemade jam (quince at the moment) and a strong cup of coffee. Inevitably I always end up with a little bit of that loaf lurking around in the pantry come Monday night. Fortunately this is perfect for turning into a thick and warming classic Tuscan soup perfect for a cold night in.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• --
• 150ml olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 leeks (finely diced)
• 0.5L beef stock
• 1L canned whole tomatoes puréed (blend for a few seconds in a food processor)
• 250g of one or two day old bread
• Fresh basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil for drizzling on top

Method

• --
• 1. Heat oil in a medium sized pot, fry off the garlic then add the leeks.
• Turn the heat down low and sauté for 20 to 25 minutes, until soft.
• 2. Add the stock and tomatoes bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• 3. Tear up the bread into large chunks; press the bread into the liquid with a spoon. Roughly tear the basil leaves and add to pot.
• 4. Leave the mixture to rest for 20 to 30 minutes until the bread has absorbed some liquid and started to go soft.
• 5. Whisk the mixture until the all the bread has broken down and the mixture is a consistent texture.
• 6. Spoon into bowls and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.