Bread and Tomato Soup - Pappa al Pomodoro

Ingredients: 

500g cherry tomatoes 

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced 

A large bunch of basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Salt 

Ground black pepper 

2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes 

500g or 2 large handfuls of stale bread 

1. Toss the cherry tomatoes in a bowl with one sliced clove of garlic and a quarter of the basil leaves. Put them in a roasting tray and drizzle them with olive oil, sprinkle with them salt and pepper, and cook in the oven at 180 degrees C/gas mark 4 for about 20 minutes. Cooking them makes the flavour more intense and concentrate.
2. Heat a glug of olive oil in a large pot and add the remaining garlic and the basil stalks. Stir around and fry for a minute until softened. Add your tinned tomatoes, then fill the tin with water and add that. Break the tomatoes up with a spoon, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. 
3. Tear the bread up into thumb-sized pieces and add them to the pan. Mix well and season to taste. Tear in the basil leaves and let the soup sit on a low heat for 10 minutes. By this time your roasted tomatoes will be done, with juice bursting out of their skins, so remove them from the tray, remembering to scrape all the sticky bits from the bottom. 
4. Give the soup a stir. You’re looking to achieve a thick, porridgey texture, so feel free to adjust it with a little water. Then remove it from the heat and add 6 or 7 tablespoons of olive oil. Divide between your bowls and serve with a little extra basil torn over the top.