Saturday Recipe

Here’s a delicious sounding Italian soup. Perfect for this time of the  year and full of hearty flavours. I have decided not to write Saturday blogs any more. I will post a recipe though.

Your Daily Dish: Tuscan Bread Soup

Bite Me More | January 9th, 2014


Wondering why we put the Union Jack underneath a bowl of this terrific Tuscan Bread Soup? Well, we got the idea for this scrumptious soup – a beautiful bowl of rustic bread, parmesan, hearty garlic and tomato broth and a perfectly poached egg – from a Brit. Mangiamo and we guarantee that you too will be thanking that chap.


Ingredients
1 French bread (about 1/2 lb, preferably day-old), cut into 11/2-inch cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 lbs plum tomatoes cut into wedges (reserve 6 wedges for garnish at the end)
2 large red bell peppers, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken broth
2 dried bay leaves
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Poached Eggs
2 cups water
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
6 large eggs
1/4 cup sliced fresh basil
1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 300°F. In a large bowl, combine bread cubes with 2 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Toss to coat and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the cubes are crisp all the way through. Remove from oven and set aside.

2) In a large soup pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add minced garlic, cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato wedges and sauté until they start to break down, about 3 minutes. Stir in red peppers and white wine, continuing to cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add chicken broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve, discarding solids. Return soup to pot, season with salt and pepper and keep hot.

3) For the poached eggs, in a small saucepan, heat the water and vinegar over low heat. When water is simmering, gently crack 2 eggs at a time into the water and poach for 2-3 minutes. Remove and plunge into a bowl filled with ice water. Yolks should be runny. Repeat with remaining eggs.

4) To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Add toasted bread cubes, reserved tomato wedges, basil and poached egg. Finish with shaved Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Have a great weekend