Classic Cookbooks: Tuscan Tomato Soup and Homemade French Bread

Name: Classic Cookbooks: Tuscan Tomato Soup and Homemade French Bread
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mediterranean, French, European
Ingredients: 1 package active dry yeast; 2 Tbsps butter; 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced; 2 stalks celery, finely diced; 118 milliliters cream (optional); 6 leaves fresh basil (optional); 2 Tbsps olive oil; 59 milliliters chopped parsley; 2 kilograms whole plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juice, or 7 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded; 2 teaspoons salt; 4 servings Salt and freshly ground pepper; 828 milliliters unbleached white flour (I used bread flour); 296 milliliters warm water

Classic Cookbooks: Tuscan Tomato Soup and Homemade French Bread might be just the Mediterranean recipe you are searching for. Watching your figure? This vegetarian recipe has 704 calories, 19g of protein, and 27g of fat per serving. This recipe covers 32% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. This recipe serves 4. Head to the store and pick up celery, , basil, and a few other things to make it today. It can be enjoyed any time, but it is especially good for Autumn. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes about 45 minutes.

Instructions

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy soup pot. Cook the carrots, celery, and onions for about 20 minutes, or until very tender.

Ingredients you will need

Carrot

Butter

Celery

Onion

Soup

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Pot

Add the tomatoes and continue cooking over moderate heat for 25 to 30 minutes longer. Stir in the parsley and basil, season with salt and pepper, cook a minute or so longer, and serve hot.

Ingredients you will need

Salt And Pepper

Tomato

Parsley

Basil

As a variation, she says you can strain the soup and thin it with cream. I pureed half of my soup and stirred it back into the chunky half. Then I stirred in a half cup of cream because I happened to have it in the refrigerator, and I was pleased with the resulting soup, which was still quite thick.

Ingredients you will need

Cream

Soup

Homemade French Bread

Ingredients you will need

French Bread

- makes 3 baguettes -

Ingredients you will need

Baguette

Adapted from Entertaining by Martha Stewart.

Soften the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. (It isn’t clear to me whether this should come out of the water listed in the ingredients. I used 1/4 cup extra here and the amount listed in the ingredients in the next step.)

Ingredients you will need

Water

Yeast

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.

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All Purpose Flour

Salt

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Add the warm water and mix well.

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Water

Add the yeast mixture and blend it into the dough.

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Dough

Yeast

Turn onto floured board and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. You can also do this in a standing mixer with a dough hook, of course, in which case it will only take about 4 or 5 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Dough

Equipment you will use

Blender

Put the kneaded dough in a covered bowl and let rise until doubled in bulk. (I can never tell whether dough has doubled in bulk, so I just wait an hour.) Punch dough down and let rise a second time until doubled. Punch down. Turn onto a floured board and shape as desired per instructions below. (I shaped my loaves right on a parchment-lined baking sheet and had no problem.)

Ingredients you will need

Dough

Punch

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Bowl

After forming the loaves, let rise covered with plastic wrap until doubled in size. Long loaves must be slashed along top with a sharp razor (3 or 4 diagonal slashes should do).

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Wrap

Equipment you will use

Plastic Wrap

Bake in a 400°F oven for 25 minutes. To obtain a fine crust, spray the loaves with water 3 or 4 times during baking. Loaves are done when golden brown and crispy.

Ingredients you will need

Crust

Water

Equipment you will use

Oven

To shape dough into baguettes: Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Pat each piece into an oval and press down the middle lengthwise with the edge of your hand. Fold in half and seal edges with the heel of your hand, pressing hard to expel air bubbles. Shape into a long, even cylinder by rolling like a clay snake.

Ingredients you will need

Baguette

Dough

Place in bread pan (with no bread pan, I just put mine on a baking sheet) and cover for the final rise (step 5 above). After the final rise, make 3 or 4 long, diagonal cuts in the top of each loaf with a razor.

Ingredients you will need

Bread

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Loaf Pan

Bake.

Equipment you will use

Oven

To shape dough into branches: Use one long, thin baguette for each branch. After the final rise but without slashing the top of the loaf, use sharp scissors to make diagonal cuts 3 inches long into each side of the baguette. You want about 4 cuts per side, and the cuts on each side should be parallel to each other, creating a series of points. Pull the points out from the baguette so that they resemble leaves or an ear of wheat. Spray with water and bake immediately, without leaving the bread to rise again.

Ingredients you will need

Baguette

Bread

Dough

Water

Wheat

Equipment you will use

Oven

Kitchen Scissors

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

1package

active dry yeast 2Tbsps

butter 2

carrots, peeled and finely diced 2stalks

celery, finely diced 118milliliters

cream (optional)6leaves

fresh basil (optional)2Tbsps

olive oil 59milliliters

chopped parsley 2kilograms

whole plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juice, or 7 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded 2teaspoons

salt 4servings

Salt and freshly ground pepper 828milliliters

unbleached white flour (I used bread flour)296milliliters

warm water

Recommended wine: Bordeaux, Champagne, White Burgundy

French works really well with Bordeaux, Champagne, and White Burgundy. French wine is just as diverse as French food, but you rarely go wrong with champagne. If your meal calls for a white wine, you might also try a white burgundy. For a red, try a red bordeaux blend. The Chateau Fleur Haut Gaussens Bordeaux Superieur with a 4.5 out of 5 star rating seems like a good match. It costs about 15 dollars per bottle.