Fab, quick, cheap, tasty and very filling recipe...try it!

Lancastriana

Just made a FAB quick, cheap, very healthy lunch! Defo need to recommend it as it really filled me up and tasted scrummy!

I adapted a recipe for Pappa al popadoro (Tuscan tomato and bread soup) - had some stale bread and a load of cherry toms to use up so googled for a recipe and the calorific content is about 250-300/bowl according to loads of...but I used a lot less olive oil as I have a very good pan so I reckon more like 220cal/bowl!

Anyway...here is it:

tiny bit of olive oil in pan with half teaspoon of cheats garlic - medium heat

whilst that if heating through, I halved half a punnet of cherry toms (so about 15) and added them to get some yummy garlic flavour.

Whilst they were softening,I opened a tin of chopped toms with garlic/herb and prepared about 400ml of veg stock

added the tinned toms and stock to my le creuset...put on medium heat to start heating through...then added the cherry toms (scraped all in to get all the garlic bits in too!) seasoned -( I used a bit of black pepper, garlic salt, bit of smoked paprika)

Left this to bubble away whilst chopping some stale crusty bread into 1 inch cubes (I used two thick slices of a large round French crusty cob - i'd say you need about two-three handfuls of bread cubes)

Add the crusty bread cubes to the soup and stir in so that they soak up some of the soup. (according to some recipes you can crisp off the bread cubes in the oven/in a sauté pan with spray oil first if you want more texture...if you put the bread in as it is then it goes all gooey and soggy...I liked it that way! up to you though!)

I served with a little black pepper and a TINY bit of grated parmesan on top...scrummy!

My other half has just had some and thought it was scrummy as well! (and thought it was even better when I told him it was super healthy!)

Lancastriana

This was my initial inspiration recipe... I then googled it and adapted the different recipes to suit me

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/29/nigel-slater-pappa-al-pomodoro-classic-recipe

nakabi

sounds yummy! thank you for sharing!

Ravenesque_

That sounds awesome! You can add breadcrumbs instead of cubed bread, which is a little trick of mine, as I find I eat less bread if its in breadcrumbs than in cubes/slices. I think I'm eating more then I actually am.

Cherry tomatoes sometimes lack tomato punch, so add a bit of tomato paste to them. A good pinch of sugar will bring out their flavour.

To take away the 'tinnyness aftertaste' of canned tomatoes, add a good dash of cinnamon.

Make sure too, not to burn the garlic. Its horrible. personal experience. :P

-Some tips from a good homecook Just my 2d

(shouldnt this be in the recipes forum?)