Ever since my sister-in-law Heather spent a semester in Florence, ribollita—the traditional Tuscan vegetable soup thickened with stale bread—has been one of her go-to dishes. If the bread’s stale, lay out the breadcrumbs on a tray and let them fully dry, then pack them into an airtight container. Pappa al Pomodoro (Tuscan Bread Soup with a Sage Oil Drizzle) Canned tomatoes take center stage in this even simpler Tuscan bread soup. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/panzanella_tuscan_tomato_09380 Particularly in Tuscany, where traditional Tuscan bread, made without any salt, tends to harden and go stale very quickly, there are numerous recipes that are designed to use up that hardened bread. Like a savory French Toast without the egg custard, stale bread is soaked in milk, pan-fried, and topped with mozzarella and anchovy. Freeze the ends or broken slices until you have enough and voila. oil. Now, I don't mean bread that's so stale it could double as a cornerstone. Stuffing/Dressing. Particularly in Tuscany, where traditional Tuscan bread, made without any salt, tends to harden and go stale very quickly, there are numerous recipes that are designed to use up that hardened bread. The … Send it back to the oven. Stuffing Muffins. Panzanella is a much-loved Italian bread salad that typically pairs ciabatta, ripe, … It's such a great weekend dish. 8. Bake on bottom shelf of oven for 10 to 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the bottom of the bread. If the bread’s fresh, put the crumbs into a reusable freezer bag and store in the freezer. Get our cookbook, free, when you sign up for our newsletter. Turn off heat, adjust seasonings and ladle into shallow bowls. Reduce heat to simmer and add bread and beans. Cook a batch of bread soup. Semmelknoedel. Tuscan Vegetable Soup (Acquacotta maremmana), 15 Cookout-Worthy Side Dishes for Burgers, 10 Great Ways to Make the Most of Your Leftovers, Day-Old Bread Gets New Life in German Bread Dumplings, 56 Bread Recipes Every Baker Should Master, 20 Recipes That Are Better as Leftovers the Next Day. Made with chunks of stale torn bread mixed into leftover vegetable soup, classic bread soup is not a quick meal (but these 30-minute soups are). A lot of Italian cuisines is based in frugality: using up everything and wasting nothing. Instead, this trick is best used for crusty breads (i.e. Here are some different ideas for delicious Italian dishes that transform stale, hard bread into something delicious. There's no need to throw it out and waste perfectly good food, and you can make something far more interesting and satisfying than just croutons with it. Keep old bread from going to waste with these stale bread recipes. From a cheesy French onion strata to a hearty Tuscan stew, these are our favorite ways to make use of leftover bread. Ribollita is a hearty vegetable stew that originated in the medieval Tuscan countryside. Top with grated cheese, an additional drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a spoonful of reserved finely chopped raw onions. Is stuffing too obvious a use for stale bread? Feel free to use homemade dough and/or turn this Italian party into a Spanish one using Serrano ham and Manchego cheese--or even a French one with Gruyere and Dijon! Crusty bread salad. These German dumplings are … Here’s what you need for this homemade croutons recipe: Stale bread (I used focaccia bread) cut into 1’’ cubes; Olive oil The cute factor of these individual stuffing muffins is through the roof. Or even two, because people will ask for more. Spoon into bowls, generously drizzle with olive oil, and grind black pepper on top. A lot of Italian cuisines is based in frugality: using up everything and wasting nothing. Sicilian breadcrumbs recipe To prepare the breadcrumbs, you’ll need the following ingredients: bread, garlic, wild fennel, caciocavallo cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Try Jamie Oliver's Ribollita recipe. Panzanella. A panzanella is an extraordinarily refreshing bread salad that's perfect on a hot summer day; it makes for great picnic food, too. Garnish with torn … ... vinegar, and basil are tossed with garlicky, toasted bread cubes to soak up the delicious juices in this classic Italian salad. Ribollita, or Tuscan bread soup, is really just pasta e fagiole that uses … Also, ribollita gets better with time. Bread pudding. Here are more old-world Italian recipes we love. Don’t let that bread go to waste! Any piece of bread that has been toasted or fried counts as a crouton, if it’s crunchy and crisp! They are amazing on this delicious summer Tomato Strawberry Gazpacho soup, made with fresh produce! Preheat oven to 375. See what other Food52 readers are saying. Use it up! Torn basil is an optional garnish. But in the spirit of Heather—and, okay, because I want to make her ribollita this week—here are a handful of Italian-inspired recipes that not only celebrate stale bread (of which I have lots right now) but also resourceful cooking, and eating well, too. Or Bread pudding sweetened with honey & nutmeg or molasses, or a sweet lemon sauce. Or have … Cubes of stale bread are the perfect sponge for all that great dressing in this Italian … If you don't have day-old bread in your pantry, simply slice fresh bread and bake it at 300° for 10 minutes. Stick with us all month long for a lineup of handy tips—from composting do's and don'ts to which reusable products really light up our lives. Oil an 11 inch oval baking dish or an equivalent baking dish, with remaining 1 Tbsp. Quite versatile, and it can be made a day ahead. Stale bread and eggs were somehow made for each other. Ideally, stale bread should be used. Hailing from the coastal Tuscan region of Maremma, this quick and simple Tuscan vegetable soup is a rich and satisfying soup, made with whatever vegetables are available (generally onions and Tuscan kale), plus tomatoes and stale slices of bread, which are rubbed with garlic and placed in the bottom of each bowl to soften in the broth. Panzanella from Tuscany is one such recipe. Add 2 cups flour, oil, and salt to bowl, and beat at low speed, using dough hook … —Mary Ann Dell, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania Stale bread can make its way into a number of recipes, so step away from the trash can and join us at the drawing board. 9. This simple bake is lovely with a cuppa. Welcome to 30 Days, 30 Ways to Green, where we're sharing all the little (and not so little!) Bread pudding. If you love soufflé but aren't in the mood to worry about it rising or collapsing, cheese, onion and bread soufflé is an easy recipe to make with stale bread. things we do to live eco-friendlier every day. So next time you find yourself with bread that's too hard to eat, don't despair! It’s basically a stale bread salad with flavors reminiscent of gazpacho. Bread pudding is another one—the staler the bread, the better to soak up all of that custardy deliciousness. Panade is yet another. 159 ratings 4.9 out of 5 star rating. Once it’s hard, grate it and combine it with chopped parsley, minced garlic, grated caciocavallo cheese, and season with salt and pepper. It's my favorite, so I can't resist. Stir soup as it simmers until it thickens to a stew-like consistency. "The people … Of course, ribollita is only one of the many ways stale bread is put to good use around the world. If not, just set it to 300-325 degrees and pop the bread in the oven, directly on the rack. It epitomizes cucina povera, the barebones cooking style common to rural Italy that makes use of every last crumb or stalk in the cupboard or crisper. Sweet or savory. Blitz bread in a food processor, do some batches really finely and some coarsely. Delicious reasons not to toss that old loaf. I've been serving this dish for years and always receive compliments on it. Soufflé. A good drizzle of sage-infused oil brings the whole thing together. This bean, kale, and bread soup is one of the most classic Tuscan winter dishes, and it's well worth letting a loaf of bread go stale to make it. Find out how to do this in 4 easy steps here. Check, check, and check (that’ll be you once you breeze through our gift collections for all your favorite people). Which European country will inspire your culinary journey tonight? Hearty and comforting, ribollita couldn’t be simpler to make, and a big batch stretches through the week for one or two people on a tight budget. Food, wine, and travel writer Kyle Phillips lived in Tuscany and developed his passion and expertise for food and cooking through travel. Food52 x GreenPan Nonstick Skillet (Set of 2). A thick bread-based soup, this popular Italian recipe is great reheated the next day. She taught herself how to make it almost immediately upon returning to New York, and for good reason. Turn leftover stale bread into homemade croutons, breadcrumbs or cubes then use them for sausage kale skillets, top creamy baked mac and cheese, toast and sprinkle over pasta or use them in a breakfast casserole! Combine yeast, sugar, and 1 cup warm water in bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer; let stand 5 minutes. If an Italian deli exploded inside a loaf of bread, it'd be this crispy meat- and cheese-stuffed braid made easy with just 5 ingredients, including pre-made pizza dough. 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