Zuppe

Last spring I planted seeds of Roma tomatoes, nurtured the little seedlings along, planted them out into a well prepared bed supplied frost covers and feed them every 2 weeks.......
This week I pulled out the plants and dug down really deep into the soil.....  into quite a large rock reef so now I know why they may not of thrived although the basil and peppers have...
The one plant I have doing well is planted in another area of the garden and with these precious fruit made the most simple and tasty Italian Zuppe (soup) Pappa Al Pomadoro.
The recipe comes from one of my favourite cook books,Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer's Tuscan Cookbook and evokes wonderful memories of my visit to the hills of Tuscany and the simple and beautiful food I enjoyed.
                                                                             

 Saute 2 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil and then add about 1 kilo of chopped ripe tomatoes, 8 basil leaves chopped and a little black pepper.  Cook for 5 mins then add 1 litre of chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cut about 500gms of day old bread into 1cm cubes and add to pan, put on lid , turn down to the lowest heat and cook for 30 mins.
Season to taste and serve with a little freshly grated cheese.

Another favourite Zuppe is Minestrone which is a really easy soup to make but works best with a great home made stock with either lamb shanks or chicken bones.
You can then add what ever veggies from your plot, mine contained, green beans,capsicum,zucchini,
onion,garlic,basil,parsley, finely shredded Tuscan kale, Roma tomatoes and a hand full of pasta shells. I also added the few fresh borlotti beans which survived the summer heat.
A dollop of homemade pesto added extra flavour.
                                                                                

                                                                          
Joining in today with Veggiegobbler and her amazing Garden gobblers.