The Pitti Palace (Medieval Times, Medici Family and others), and an amazing restaurant I ate at with Cat and Sydney!

This restaurant was one of my favorite meals in Florence, and I tried a delicious Florence dish! It was called "Papa al Pomodoro" and is a tomato soup that is thick from soaked bread in it! Pomodoro means tomato in Italian, and EVERYTHING has some sort of Pomodoro in it. We also had gnocchi with a tomato cream sauce. SO delicious!

Papa al Pomodoro:

Clean 10 tomatoes, cut them in half, and put them in a casserole dish with some salt and pepper on top. Skin 5 cloves of garlic and add them in the pan. roast them in the oven 350 degrees F for a half hour (until well roasted).

Blend the tomatoes and garlic in a blender until they form a purée. Put the purée in a sauce pot and turn on low heat so it just simmers. Meanwhile, start a pot/teapot of boiling water to have ready to add to the soup.

In the tomatoes and garlic, add about half a cup of chopped fresh basil (more or less depending on what you prefer), as well as a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. As it is very thick and rich in flavor, add just 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup of boiling water to thin out a bit.

Now, for the fun part. Take a baguette and start ripping off little pieces (the size of your finger to the first knuckle) and adding them to the soup. Add 1/4-1/2 of the baguette, or any sort of bread flavor you prefer, to thicken the soup. Keep stirring and letting the bread completely melt into the soup, so that you cannot even tell that there is bread that is making it thick. Keep stirring, while letting it soak up the flavor.

When completely married (15-20ish minutes of simmering/stirring), stir in a bit of parmesan cheese (because it is delicious and makes everything better), pour into a bowl to serve, and top with sprinkled parmesan and a sprig of basil.

Voila! Papa al Pomodoro for the family!

This recipe is super easy and delicious and I recommend it to anyone to try!!! You can also sauté chopped tomatoes instead of roasting them (with olive oil of course) if you do not have an oven, and will still be amazing. I made it the night I got back for Erik and I, and with a salad on the side, it made a perfect meal! Of course, pairing it with pasta and a glass of 11 year old French red wine never hurts!