{"id":68690,"date":"2023-03-01T08:55:45","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T15:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=68690"},"modified":"2025-03-07T11:25:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T18:25:02","slug":"what-to-do-with-stale-bread-pappa-al-pomodoro-other-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-to-do-with-stale-bread-pappa-al-pomodoro-other-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"Pappa al Pomodoro and two other great recipes to use up stale bread"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Stale
Stale bread pieces and tomatoes make for a warming Pappa al Pomodoro. Photo by Bill St. John, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many cultures and cuisines make do with leftover (stale) bread. It\u2019s a smart move, not merely a frugal one.<\/p>\n

Leftover bread adds much flavor and a yeoman\u2019s heft to the foods with which it is cooked. And it\u2019s a better stretcher than most anything else available. Without it, we would have far less gazpacho, migas (the delicious Spanish vegetable and sausage dish), romesco sauce or good meatloaf.<\/p>\n

It’s the base of \u201cpain perdu\u201d (\u201clost bread\u201d), the original French name for what we call \u201cFrench toast.\u201d Without it, there\u2019d be no downhome American bread pudding, Apple Brown Betty or even Thanksgiving dinner\u2019s stuffing, all of which profitably use up stale bread.<\/p>\n

But, for my palate, no one bests an Italian (especially a Tuscan) at cooking with leftover bread that might be days old. What elevates Panzanella \u2014 chopped fresh tomato, onion, olive oil and basil \u2014 but the bread? There\u2019s no gut-heating to a ribollita \u2014 that twice-cooked Tuscan stew of black cabbage, beans and other vegetables \u2014 without its stale crusts.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find Pappa al Pomodoro cooked throughout Italy; perhaps, just perhaps, Tuscany\u2019s is best. The recipe here utilizes the best canned or jarred tomatoes that you can find, so you needn\u2019t wait for summer\u2019s bounty of fresh tomatoes.

Get other great tips and recipes from Bill St. John<\/a>.<\/div>\n

\u201cPappa\u201d is Italian for \u201cpap,\u201d as in porridge or a child\u2019s pabulum. The word fittingly describes the texture. The finished dish would benefit from the crunch of a crouton or six.<\/p>\n

In his \u201cScience in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well,\u201d the greatest cookbook<\/a> in Italian of its day, Pellegrino Artusi writes a recipe for what he calls \u201cpanata,\u201d a mix of crumbled leftover bread, eggs, nutmeg, broth and nutty cheese. Reading it, I couldn\u2019t help but think it a sort of dessert, so I\u2019ve changed out the recipe\u2019s original water or broth for hot milk, added some honey and ended with toppers of sweet butter.<\/p>\n

The ample Parmigiano-Reggiano makes it a sweet-savory dessert, if you like that sort. Use ricotta or mascarpone instead if you prefer a straightforwardly sweet dessert. Just mind the texture going into the pot: sloshy, not batter-like.<\/p>\n

Artusi\u2019s recipe instructs to \u201cgrate\u201d the chunks of stale bread. He didn\u2019t have the happy pulses of a food processor. We do.<\/p>\n

Pappa al Pomodoro<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6-8 as a side.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1\/4 cup extra virgin olive oil<\/p>\n

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped small<\/p>\n

4 cloves garlic, peeled and slivered or minced<\/p>\n

1\/4 to 3\/8 teaspoon dried pepper flakes, to taste<\/p>\n

1 28-ounce jar or can whole peeled tomatoes<\/p>\n

4 large or 6 medium leaves basil, stemmed and roughly torn<\/p>\n

4 tablespoons tomato paste<\/p>\n

1 teaspoon honey<\/p>\n

12 ounces stale bread, torn up small or cubed (about 4 cups lightly packed)<\/p>\n

4 cups vegetable broth or water<\/p>\n

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste<\/p>\n

Additional basil leaves, in chiffonade, for garnish<\/p>\n

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling<\/p>\n

Directions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat, warm the oil and, in it, cook the chopped onions, covered, stirring a couple of times, until they are translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Raise the heat slightly, add the garlic and pepper flakes, stirring them in, and cook just until the garlic is aromatic, about 90 seconds more.<\/p>\n

Add the tomatoes, either crushing them well with your hands as you add them or with a potato masher against the bottom of the pot, then the torn basil leaves, tomato paste and honey. Stir everything well and continue mashing the tomatoes until they are mushy. Cook for 3-4 minutes until heated through.<\/p>\n

Add the bread pieces and stir to coat. Add the broth (or water), bring to a simmer and cook at a simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing again, if necessary, until the pappa resembles well-cooked oatmeal. Correct for salt and black pepper (you may need a good amount of salt, especially if serving at room temperature or cooler).<\/p>\n

Serve hot, warm or even cooler, garnished with basil chiffonade and swirls of olive oil.<\/p>\n

Panata Dolce<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Adapted from Pellegrino Artusi, \u201cScience in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well,\u201d (University of Toronto Press, 2003). Serves 3-4.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h3>\n

130 grams (4.5 ounces, 1 heaping cup) stale bread, grated (see note)<\/p>\n

4 large eggs, lightly whisked<\/p>\n

50 grams (2 ounces, 2\/3 cup) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated<\/p>\n

Pinch of nutmeg<\/p>\n

Pinch of salt<\/p>\n

3 tablespoons honey<\/p>\n

1-2 cups heated whole milk, depending on dryness of bread<\/p>\n

\"Panata
Panata Dolce gathered in its pot. Photo by Bill St. John, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Directions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mix everything together but the milk and then incorporate the milk until you get a slurry that is lighter than pancake batter but thicker than cream. Let the mix sit for 1\/2 hour to thicken slightly (as the bread begins absorbing the eggs and milk). If stiffer than pancake batter, add a bit more warmed milk. What cooks next should be about as dense as pre-whipped heavy cream.<\/p>\n

Ready a double boiler with simmering water, or fashion one out of a large, low pot 1\/3 filled with simmering water into which easily fits a medium-large saucepan. Pour the panata mixture into the top part of the double boiler or into the saucepan and let the mix begin to thicken over the heat, stirring occasionally.<\/p>\n

Once it begins to set markedly, about 5 minutes in, use a wooden or silicon spatula to gather it gently but frequently into the center, scraping the cooked portion from the bottom and sides, mounting it into the center. Neither let it stiffen into a solid mass nor overly break it up, as with curds of scrambled eggs.<\/p>\n

Serve the panata by making an indentation in each serving and filling that with a small knob of room temperature unsalted butter.<\/p>\n

Note: No need to take Artusi at his written word and \u201cgrate\u201d the stale bread. Use a modern food processor and pulse the bread 2-3 times for the same result.<\/p>\n

Panzanella<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Serves 4-6.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h3>\n

2 cups hearty-crumbed bread (such as ciabatta or good quality baguette), stale, if possible, shorn of its crusts, cut into 1\/2-inch cubes<\/p>\n

3 medium ripe red tomatoes, peeled and halved<\/p>\n

1\/2 sweet white or red onion, peeled and sliced thinly<\/p>\n

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed into a paste with a bit of sea salt<\/p>\n

3 flat silver anchovies, drained<\/p>\n

2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed and squeezed<\/p>\n

1\/4 cup extra virgin olive oil<\/p>\n

2 tablespoons good quality red wine vinegar<\/p>\n

1\/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded, deveined, diced into 1\/4-inch cubes<\/p>\n

1 cup Persian cucumbers, partially peeled, diced into 1\/4-inch cubes<\/p>\n

8 large or 12-15 medium leaves fresh basil<\/p>\n

Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper<\/p>\n

Directions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Toast the bread: In a slow oven (200 degrees), dry out the bread cubes on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes. If you wish them golden, turn on the broiler at some distance from them for 10 minutes to finish. Remove from the oven, set aside and cool.<\/p>\n

Prepare the tomatoes: With a fine sieve set over a large bowl, seed the tomatoes, squeezing out their juices. Cut the flesh into 1\/2-inch pieces and set aside. Discard the seeds from the sieve. Replace the reserved pieces in the sieve to continue to drain. Reserve the strained \u201ctomato water\u201d in the bowl.<\/p>\n

Prepare the onions: Put the onion slices in a large bowl and cover by 2 inches with cold water. Squeeze the onions in your hand, tightly, 5 times over. Drain them of the water (it will be \u201cmilky\u201d) and repeat the rinsing and squeezing 3 additional times. After a final draining, gather them inside a kitchen towel, wringing out as much water as you can. Reserve.<\/p>\n

Make the dressing: Make a paste of the smashed garlic, anchovies and capers, grinding them together using a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a wooden spoon against the side of bowl. To the paste, add the olive oil and vinegar and a healthy pinch of salt. Whisk or stir well to combine. Toss in the diced pepper and cucumber and fold to coat with the dressing. Set aside.<\/p>\n

In a very large bowl or deep serving platter, place the bread cubes and sprinkle generously with all the reserved tomato water. Let the bread soak up the tomato water for 15 minutes, tossing once or twice. Add the reserved tomato pieces, the onions and the dressing with the peppers and cucumbers. Correct for salt.<\/p>\n

Rip up the basil leaves into smaller pieces and sprinkle over the panzanella. Toss everything together thoroughly and finish with generous grindings of black pepper. Serve.<\/p>\n

Note: If the bread is very stale and, after sopping up the liquids, remains dryish, sprinkle with additional extra virgin olive oil.<\/p>\n

Reach Bill St John at billstjohn@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many cultures and cuisines make do with leftover (stale) bread. It\u2019s a smart move, not merely a frugal one. Leftover bread adds much flavor and a yeoman\u2019s heft to the foods with which it is cooked. And it\u2019s a better stretcher than most anything else available. Without it, we would have far less gazpacho, migas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2197,"featured_media":68717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4799,2366,9187,4415],"class_list":["post-68690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-bill-st-john","tag-healthy-recipes","tag-readysetco","tag-recipes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUsing stale bread: Pappa al Pomodoro recipe, others- UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many cultures and cuisines make do with stale bread. 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It\u2019s a smart move, not merely a frugal one. Here are a few Italian recipes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-to-do-with-stale-bread-pappa-al-pomodoro-other-recipes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-to-do-with-stale-bread-pappa-al-pomodoro-other-recipes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-to-do-with-stale-bread-pappa-al-pomodoro-other-recipes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/02\/28151032\/PAPPA-POMODORO2-web.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/02\/28151032\/PAPPA-POMODORO2-web.webp","width":800,"height":800,"caption":"Stale bread pieces and tomatoes make for a warming Pappa al Pomodoro. 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He writes and teaches about restaurants, wine, food & wine, the history of the cuisines of several countries (France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the USA), about religion and its nexus with food, culture, history, or philosophy, and on books, travel, food writing, op-ed, and language. Bill has lent (and lends) his subject matter expertise to such outlets as The Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, 5280 Magazine, and for various entities such as food markets, wine shops, schools & hospitals, and, for its brief life, Microsoft\u2019s sidewalk.com. In 2001 he was nominated for a James Beard Award in Journalism for his 12 years of writing for Wine & Spirits Magazine. Bill's experience also includes teaching at Regis University and the University of Chicago and in classrooms of his own devising; working as on-air talent with Denver's KCNC-TV, where he scripted and presented a travel & lifestyle program called \"Wine at 45\"; a one-week stint as a Trappist monk; and offering his shoulder as a headrest for Julia Child for 20 minutes. 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