Pappa al Pomodoro

Here's a first dish of the Florentine traditional peasant cooking.
Ingredients:
-Stale bread (Tuscan bread baked in a wood-fired oven would be perfect)
-Ripe tomatoes
-Basil
-Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
First, stir fry the garlic in the oil, then add the tomatoes cut in a large pieces. Mix well and add the chopped basil (or the whole leaves), some salt and lots of pepper. Let it cook for about ten minutes, and then add water or some vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes, then add the bread cut into pieces and boil for another 5 to 10 minutes. Add some more salt and pepper if necessary, then add some more basil and turn the fire off. Let the "pappa" rest in a covered pot for about an hour and serve with some olive oil. This is the traditional recipe which includes garlic, but there are different varations. Pagani Alice