How to make papa al pomodoro – recipe

I couldn’t get my four-year-old to eat a raw tomato if I tried. Funny then that some of her favourite cooked meals are those that include tomato, the fresh or tinned variety. Tomatoes cooked simply with garlic and olive oil is surely one of gastronomy’s finest triumvirates for adults and children alike.

I had some stale white bread – too old for sandwiches and too good to for the birds – and cooking with bread is a task I especially like. Savoury bread puddings in the winter, fattoush salads in summer and this Tuscan-inspired soup are among three of my best bread-based family dishes.

With the summer holidays in full swing, the children sat outside and ate this soup for lunch. Served warm, not piping hot, the bread is softened in the tomato and garlic juices with plenty of basil and a slick of olive oil. A tomato sandwich so to speak except, on the soupy side, and one that a tomato-hating four-year-old happily ate.

(serves 4)

6 large very ripe tomatoes

200g stale white bread

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

Large bunch of basil (leaves picked and roughly chopped and totalling 20g)

600ml cold water

4 tablespoons of olive oil

½ tsp of red wine vinegar

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper

With a sharp knife, make a slit in the side of each tomato ½cm into the skin.

Drop the tomatoes into boiling water and simmer in a high-sided saucepan, submerging them completely for 15 seconds.

Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and run under cold water. The skins should now easily slip off.

Peel and chop the middle out of each tomato and discard. Roughly chop the flesh into 1cm dice.

Drain the water from the pan and add half the olive oil, then the garlic and gently sweat over a low heat for three to five minutes until soft but not brown.

Add the tomato flesh with a pinch of sugar and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes until softened and smelling sweet.

Roughly tear the stale bread into 2½cm pieces and add to the tomatoes. Add the cold water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about five minutes, until the bread breaks down and absorbs the water.

Take the soup off the heat, add the basil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and remaining olive oil.

Rest for five minutes or so for the flavours to meld, and serve warm, not piping hot.