Description
Jamie Oliver’s hearty bread soup blends rustic Italian peasant cooking with simple, nourishing ingredients. Crusty bread cubes soak up rich tomato broth, creating a comforting meal you’ll savor with each warming spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
- 500 g (1.1 lb) stale quality bread
- 500 g (1.1 lb) ripe cherry tomatoes
- 2 x 400 g (2 x 14 oz) tins of quality plum tomatoes
- 1 big bunch of fresh basil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- quality extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) on gas mark 4. Slice garlic into delicate slivers and separate basil leaves from stems, finely chopping the stems.
- Tomato Roasting: Arrange cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet, pierce each one, and scatter garlic slivers and basil leaves. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 20 minutes to concentrate flavors.
- Base Creation: In a large pan, heat olive oil and sauté basil stems and remaining garlic until fragrant. Add canned tomatoes, crushing them with a wooden spoon, and pour an equivalent amount of water from the can. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
- Bread Integration: Tear bread into rustic pieces and fold into the pan. Season with salt and pepper, reduce heat, and let rest for 10 minutes. Gently incorporate most of the remaining basil leaves.
- Final Assembly: Remove roasted tomatoes from the oven, transfer to the pan, and scrape all caramelized juices. Stir thoroughly to achieve a thick, creamy porridge-like consistency, adding water if needed. Remove from heat and drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the soup.
- Serving: Divide the soup among bowls and garnish with remaining torn basil leaves, creating a vibrant and aromatic dish.
Notes
- Slice Garlic Precisely: Cut garlic into ultra-thin slivers for even flavor distribution and delicate texture throughout the soup.
- Roast Tomatoes Strategically: Pierce cherry tomatoes before roasting to help release natural sugars and create concentrated, caramelized flavor profiles.
- Control Liquid Consistency: Adjust soup thickness by adding water gradually, aiming for a creamy porridge-like texture that’s neither too runny nor too dense.
- Maximize Flavor Layering: Incorporate roasted tomato juices and caramelized bits from the baking sheet to enhance the soup’s overall depth and richness.
- Prep Time: 13 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Appetizer
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg