Lidia’s Italy, the show is a great source for ideas on Italian foods! Just looking at her cooking and visiting her site brings so many ideas to the forefront…this recipe is a direct result of seeing her Tomato and Bread Soup and the craving for a pasta using some old ciabatta bread I had at home!
Now there are plenty of tomato and bread soup recipes out there, but there’s something about Lidia’s recipes that just remind me of real Italian home-style recipes! Why would you be inspired elsewhere?

The adapted Bready Tomato pasta is the kind of meal you could eat in winter as a hearty dish or in summer for something a little more filling. The freshness of the basil and the tang of the red wine vinegar bring out the soggy tomato bread, before twirling it around some lovely fresh pasta! Try it for yourself!

Serves:

• Two big mains or three more normal sizes!

Ingredients:

• Fresh Pasta for three
• 1-2 days old Ciabatta Roll, broken into pieces
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 red onion roughly diced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 700 grams tomatoes passata (I used organic)
• 1 whole ripe tomato, diced roughly (I used hydroponic)
• 1 chicken-style stock cube (I use Massell)
• pinch salt
• cracked pepper
• 10-15 fresh basil leaves
• 4 tbs red wine vinegar
• Optional: 2 tbs grated grana padano cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook the fresh pasta in salted water and drain when pasta rises to the top. Cool the pasta with cold water before setting aside. Cooling the pasta, will stop it from cooking any further and ensure it doesn’t stick together!
2. Place the oil in the pan and stir in the onions until soft. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the garlic and cook slowly until golden brown.
4. Pour half of the tomato passata and cut tomato into the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes.
5. Place the bread into the passata and simmer until the bread starts to go soft.
6. Add the stock cube, stirring through to break down the bread and mix into the tomato mixture.
7. Add the remaining tomato passata, season with salt and pepper and pour the red wine vinegar in.
8. Stir before simmering for another five to ten minutes until the bread has mixed through the dish.
9. Tear the basil into the dish and at this stage, add 1 tbs of the grana padano if you like, roughly stirring through.
10. Serve the pasta in the bowl and add the sauce on top, mixing through the pasta.
11. Optional: Top with some more padano cheese and basil before serving.