THICK TOMATO-BREAD SOUP, CATALAN STYLE

Thick Tomato-Bread Soup, Catalan Style image

Provided by Florence Fabricant

Categories dinner, lunch, one pot, soups and stews, appetizer, main course

Time 30m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, slivered
4 ounces chorizo (casings removed), crumbled
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 pounds ripe beefsteak tomatoes, peeled
Generous pinch saffron threads
2 cups crustless country bread, finely diced
Salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

Steps:

Heat oil in a large sauté pan. Add garlic and cook over low heat till soft. Add chorizo, raise heat and cook until starting to brown. Stir in paprika. Remove from heat.
Place a sieve over the pan, halve tomatoes horizontally and hold cut side down over sieve as you gently squeeze to remove seeds and allow juice to fall into pan. Remove sieve. Reserve tomato pulp. Heat juice in pan until warm, add saffron and set aside off heat 10 minutes.
Finely chop tomato pulp by hand or in food processor. Add to pan. Bring to a simmer. Stir in bread. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to stand, off heat, stirring from time to time, until room temperature, about 30 minutes. Fold in parsley and serve.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 372, UnsaturatedFat 18 grams, Carbohydrate 26 grams, Fat 26 grams, Fiber 5 grams, Protein 12 grams, SaturatedFat 6 grams, Sodium 950 milligrams, Sugar 10 grams, TransFat 0 grams