This Italian comfort food is a thick Tuscan tomato soup made with stale bread, tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, and olive oil. The bread absorbs the flavors and creates a flavorful and satisfying dish.
In this version, I added some tomato sauce because I only had a few fresh tomatoes on hand, and I used some croutons from the freezer since I didn’t have any stale bread. (When you have homemade sauce and croutons on hand, you’ll use them everywhere!)
4 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, any color
1/2 medium yellow onion
2-3 fresh garlic cloves
1/4 — 1/3 cup of stale bread or homemade croutons
1/3 cup fresh basil
Burrata or fresh mozzarella cheese
2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Mince the onion. Chop by hand or pulse 5 to 6 times in a mini food processor. This is a big time-saver.
Peel and mince the garlic cloves. Or you can pulse a few times in the mini food processor.
Prepare the tomatoes. Traditionally, this dish is made with fresh tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and then chopped, but you can use cherry or grape tomatoes. If you have homemade tomato sauce, you can use that in place of the fresh tomatoes.
Cut or break the stale bread into small pieces. I like to keep homemade croutons in the freezer for this dish. You can add the croutons to the pan while they are frozen.
Heat 2–3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once warm, add the onion and sauté for 6–7 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned.
Add the minced garlic and cook for about a minute to bring out its flavor.
Put the chopped tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or tomato sauce in the pan and stir with the onions and garlic. Cook on low until most of the tomato water has evaporated.
Add the bread cubes or croutons, fresh basil, and sea salt & pepper. Stir and cook until the bread absorbs the juices and everything is well incorporated.
Serve with burrata or mozzarella on top.
This dish can be made ahead of time and served cold or at room temperature — it's even better the next day. For the best flavor, choose mozzarella packed in water. You can place a large ball of mozzarella on top and serve family-style, slicing the cheese as you plate each portion. Or for a more elegant presentation, serve in individual portions with sliced mozzarella on top or a medium-sized ball of bocconcini.
