13/06/2026
Pappa al pomodoro is always a good idea, in every season.
You can serve it hot, warm, or even cold, but always with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil… and never with cheese, as Pellegrino Artusi would say.
Ingredients for 15 people:
1 large leek, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
3 cans of peeled tomatoes, 800 g each
700–900 g stale bread, cut into thin, small slices
4 liters of water
8 vegetable stock cubes
4–5 garlic cloves, finely minced
A beautiful manciata — a generous handful — of fresh basil, finely chopped
And then there are the Italian words of cooking, the words that are almost impossible to translate perfectly.
A manciata is not just “a handful”: it is a generous gesture, something measured by the hand, by experience, by feeling.
A trito is not simply “chopped herbs” or “minced ingredients”: it is the result of a precise movement, of a knife, of a rhythm, of a way of cooking that belongs to Italian home kitchens.
This is why I love studying and sharing the language of Italian food: because every recipe is also made of words, memories, gestures, and culture.
And speaking of tradition, Pellegrino Artusi was one of the fathers of Italian cuisine. In 1891 he published Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, a book that helped create a shared culinary language for Italy, bringing together recipes, words, and traditions from different regions.
So yes: pappa al pomodoro is made with bread, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil.
But it is also made with words like manciata, trito, pappa… words that tell the story of Italian cooking.
