Pappa al Pomodoro

I'm on a roll! Here is the second recipe from my 100 Things to Cook, Bake and Make list. Pappa al Pomodoro is an Italian soup that is thickened with bread. That's what interested me in this recipe. It's actually very simple to make and yields a pretty high flavor for very little effort. My husband was stealing pieces of bread and dipping it in the soup on the stove the whole time it was cooking, so you know it must be good. The ingredients are mostly things that you may have on hand already, and it would be great for a night when you really don't feel like cooking. I'm not usually a big fan of Rachael Ray, but this recipe is a winner. Enjoy!

Pappa al Pomodoro

from Express Lane Meals by Rachael Ray

1 loaf chewy bread, such as ciabatta

1/2 cup olive oil

1 sprig fresh rosemary (I used dried)

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 small onion (I omitted this because my husband has issues with onions)

1 cup chicken stock

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

1 cup fresh basil, about 20 leaves

Salt and black pepper

Parmesan

Chop about 2 cups (a couple of small mounds) of the bread and reserve the rest to pass at the table.

Heat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup of the olive oil, then add the sprig of rosemary and the garlic. Peel and halve the onion and, using a box grater, grate the onion directly into the soup pot. Sauté the mixture for 5 minutes, then remove the rosemary stem. Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes and bring it to a bubble. Add the bread chunks and stir until the bread has melted into the soup; the result is a super thick consistency. Tear or shred the basil and stir it into the soup. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and ladle the soup into bowls. Top it with an extra swirl of olive oil, 1 tablespoon per bowl, and lots of shaved Parmesan.