Thanks to Focaccia Gate, I figured I should take a stab at a different Pugliese favorite. I recently learned of pancotto, a simple soup made of vegetables, typically rapini, potatoes, and tomatoes, and stale bread that is famous in Puglia. Other regions have their own versions, but it’s a go-to in the Italian South, where humble dishes are celebrated. Pancotto (literally “cooked bread”) is a soup that makes use of any leftovers, ensuring that no food goes to waste. With Puglia being Italy’s breadbasket, it makes sense that their go-to meal finds a way to revive stale bread. After researching and browsing our farmer’s market for in-season produce (and my fridge for food about to go bad), I came up with my own version of pancotto. The traditional version is simpler, often relying on just bread, tomatoes, water, and rapini for flavor. I added a few more ingredients to make the soup even tastier.
Ingredients:
1 lb potatoes, cut into 1” pieces
1 bunch Tuscan kale (can also use rapini or curly leaf kale - whatever’s in season!)
2 beefsteak tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cloves unpeeled garlic*
1/3 - 1/2 stale ciabatta loaf, hand-torn
8-10 cups vegetable broth or water
EVOO
Kosher salt
Pepper
Dash of red pepper flakes
2 tbsp Tomato paste (optional)
Parmesan rind (optional, but highly recommended if you have remaining cheese on hand!)
*I only recommend unpeeled because I saw a recipe for pancotto that called for garlic “in camicia” (in a shirt). It was too cute to omit!
Directions:
In a soup pot or Dutch oven, lightly sauté the garlic cloves in olive oil. Then, add the potatoes, tomatoes, and kale and stir. After the vegetables are beginning to wilt, add in the pieces of bread. Pour in enough broth or water to barely cover the ingredients, add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and bring to a boil.
At this stage, feel free to throw in a parmesan rind. This is the vegetarian equivalent of a soup bone (perfect for Meatless Monday!). Since I had a near-finished wedge of Parmesan on hand, I added it for flavor.
Once boiling, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 40 minutes, remove the cover, raise the heat if necessary, and cook off the liquid for an additional 10-20 minutes. If the soup appears too thin, feel free to add tomato paste to thicken it.
Once the desired consistency has been achieved, finish with additional salt and pepper and remove the cheese rind. Serve with any remaining bread.
Notes
Matt and I were surprisingly full after eating this soup, but if you want to add protein, feel free to incorporate Cannellini beans along with the potatoes, tomatoes, and kale.
Traditionally, this dish is made with Pugliese bread, but that can be tough to find in the U.S. The closest thing is ciabatta, but if you stumble across some good Pugliese bread, definitely use that instead!