The Spicy Spatula

Hey there, guys!

I don’t know how much you know about Romania but there are two major influences in this country in two distinct ways. German influences are everywhere, most obvious when it comes to corporate influences. Many of the biggest companies here–grocery stores, home wares, construction–are based in Germany.

And then there’s Italy. Many Romanians live in Italy and bring back parts of the culture for those at home, including food. Okay maybe most especially food.

Which brings me to my point. Finally. I had quite a bit of leftover bread and it was hard but not moldy so I was loathe to just toss it out. My options were limited, breadcrumbs or breadcrumbs. So what did I choose?

At my husbands advice, I chose an Italian style bread soup.

Now if you knew me at all you would know that I have a thing about soggy bread. I don’t like it. That’s my thing. It’s one of the reasons I don’t like any dish–vegan or otherwise–that makes use of soggy bread that I’m required to eat.

Nope. No, thank you.

But I did my research and found an Italian recipe Pappa al Pomodoro, which ironically means “tomato mush” when translated, and I decided it was something within my skill set and I had the required ingredients.

Verdict? It came out pretty delicious if I say so myself. But be warned, even though I didn’t put the bread in the pot, but rather at the bottom of the bowl and poured the rest of the soup on top of it, that bread was hot as hell!!

My only complaint, I swear!

This vegan soup recipe is easy to make, doesn’t have a rigid list of ingredients and can be used as a perfect throw away vegan recipe, as in you can use things that might have to be thrown away if doesn’t get used soon.

Kitchen Tools:

Ingredients:

*Leftover bread
*Leeks
*Onion
*Red pepper flakes
*Garlic
*Spinach (frozen)
*Tomatoes
*Tomato paste
*Sun dried tomatoes
*Peeled/stewed tomatoes
*Fresh dill
*Vegan parmesan
*Water or Waste free broth

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Instructions:

**This is an oil free vegan recipe so feel free to replace the broth in the first with an oil of your choosing.**

*Chop your veggies in uniform sizes to avoid mushy vegetables.

*Add onions and red pepper flakes to a large stock pot over medium high heat. Use broth or water when you need to avoid sticking. Next add sliced leeks and chopped garlic. Cook about 5 minutes until fragrant.

*Stir in chopped fresh tomatoes and cook another 3 to 5 minutes.

*Next, add in tomato paste and stewed tomatoes. Break the tomatoes up with your hands before hand or grab your wooden spoon and take’em apart in the pot.

*Add in frozen spinach along with fresh or dried herbs like oregano, thyme, and marjoram.

*Add more water or vegan stock until the pot is close to full but not quite. how much you use will depend on the size of your pot.

*Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes or until the flavors are where you want them and the veggies aren’t too soft.

*The Bread: cut the bread as best you can. I sprayed the bread with water and then seasoned it with salt, black pepper, oregano & garlic. Baked it on 200C/400F for 3 to 5 minutes and that’s it.

*You can drop the bread into the pot and let it sit for another 5 minutes, which was what most of the recipes I looked at recommended. I like my soup with a bit of liquid in them so I put the bread in the bowl and ladled the soup on top.

*Add a little bit more red pepper flakes and vegan parmesan cheese on top if you like. I think the cheese added a really great flavor .

**This vegan soup recipe was a 2-parter for me and the hubs. We had the soup with bread for lunch and with barley for dinner. This is why I recommended a big pot and a lot of liquid but you can use a lot less if this is just a one serving vegan meal.

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