Tomato Bread Soup

Photo: Anneka Gerhardt

Ingredients

500 grams ripe cherry tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

a large bunch or whole package of fresh basil

good quality extra virgin olive oil

800 grams can of good-quality plum tomatoes (ok to sub whole peeled tomatoes)

500 grams or 2 large handfuls of stale good-quality bread

Preparation

Separate the basil leaves from the stalks. Finely chop the stalks.

If you need to dry out a fresh loaf of bread, slice the loaf in half horizontally and let sit in a low-heat oven (around 250ºF) for 10-15 minutes. You want the bread to be dry, but not browned.

Prick the cherry tomatoes and toss them with one sliced clove of garlic and a small handful of the basil leaves. Lightly coat with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper, put them in a roasting tray and cook in the oven at 350ºF for 20 min.

Pour a good glug of olive oil in a large pot with the remaining two sliced cloves of garlic and chopped basil stalks. Gently fry for a minute.

Pour in your canned tomatoes.

Fill half of your 800g can with water, pour in.

Break up the canned tomatoes with a big spoon and stir.

Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

Tear up stale bread into crouton-size pieces and add to soup.

Season to taste.

Let soup sit on low heat for 10 minutes.

When your cherry tomatoes are done, add to soup, including all the garlic, basil, and juices from the bottom of the roasting tray.

If your soup seems too thick (go for a porridge-y texture), add a little water.

Add seven tablespoons of olive oil to the soup, and serve.