Tuscan Bread Soup with Sage Oil Drizzle

Jenny is in perpetual search for easy, weeknight recipes to attempt to feed her family. When they balk, she just eats more.

Today: A dish so fall-friendly you will scream with joy.

Some of you will no doubt feel a little crabby with me for giving you a recipe in October that requires basil and sage. But I would ask that you all try and chillax a little because first of all, like me, you may have both of these things still hanging around your garden or porch pots, waving their fuzzy green arms sadly toward the dead lavender and the tomatoes that never came in. 

Also, you know, my bar is totally out of Cynar and no one in my house folds laundry, so what I’m trying to tell all of you is that life can be difficult and we all just need to be flexible. So buy some basil okay? Because Tuscan Bread Soup with Sage Oil Drizzle is so-fall friendly you’re going to scream with joy.

First, leftover bread? Yes, in fact!

A big can of tomatoes? Check!

Please don’t overcook the garlic or you will have to start over. Which we hate. 

Once you’ve thrown in your tomatoes, you can sort of ignore this dish and go back to painting the front hallway or wondering why it is that you didn’t invent “Dog with a Blog." 

At some point you will make some sage oil. If you don’t your dish will be less special but still pretty yummy; if you don’t I would just dump some parmesan cheese in and call it a night. 

Tuscan Bread Soup with a Sage Oil Drizzle by em-i-lis

Serves 4, with leftovers

1/4 plus 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic (more if you’re positively wild for garlic), minced
1/2 cup (at least) fresh basil, shredded
6 cups cubed or torn day-old bread (this is roughly one smallish loaf of ciabatta or French baguette)
Two 28-ounce cans San Marzano or other good quality whole tomatoes in juice, plus one 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2 1/2 cups water
10 fresh sage leaves (6 minced, 4 left whole)

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by James Ransom