Rialto Restaurant & Bar

TOMATO, BREAD & CORN SOUP

This is a New England take on a Tuscan classic. We add corn to Pappa al Pomodoro to give the soup a nice pop. 

 

1  cup crustless day-old rustic bread, torn into ½-inch pieces

¼  cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ cups finely diced white onions

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon diced hot peppers, (optional)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 ears corn, husked

2 ½ pounds peeled tomatoes, chopped

1 bay leaf

Basil stems

¼  cup basil leaves

¼ cup basil pesto

 

Soak ½ cup of the bread in water.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the remaining bread and cook, tossing, until the bread is toasty and golden.  Season with salt and pepper.  Transfer the bread to a plate.

Add an additional 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan with the onions and season with salt and pepper.  Cook 5 minutes or until tender.  Add the garlic and cook an additional minute or two.

Meanwhile, use a sharp knife to strip the corn kernels from the cobs.  Set the kernels aside.  Run the back side of your knife down the cobs.  You will have corn puree.  Add to the kernels.  Cut each cob into 4 pieces.

Add the corn cobs, 2 pounds of the tomatoes, bay leaf, basil stems and 2 cups water to the pan with the onions and cook for 35 minutes.

Remove and discard the bay leaf, basil stems and corn cobs. Cool.

Puree in the food processor with the basil leaves and return to a large clean saucepan over low heat.

Squeeze the water from the bread and crumble it into the tomato base.  Using a whisk beat the bread into the base and cook 10 minutes.    You should have a nice thick mixture like a pureed soup.  If it seems thin, continue cooking until thick.  If it is too thick, add a little water.

Add the kernels and remaining tomatoes.  Cook 3 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasonings with a pinch sugar, if necessary, salt and pepper.

Serve warm, or at room temperature with a spoonful of pesto and the toasted bread.