If you think your rock-hard stale bread should be destined for the trash, think again. An Italian chef has a recipe called Pappa Al Pomodoro that will not only revive the bread but also make it the foundation of a delicious dish.
The scoop
TikTok creator Francesco Mattana (@our_cookingjourney) shared the five-ingredient recipe in a video.
@our_cookingjourney Don't throw away your stale bread! Make Pappa Al Pomodoro instead! 🍅❤️ This Tuscan recipe is a great way to reuse old or stale bread and is another of my favourite dishes from La Cucina Povera. And because bread is one of the top foods wasted in the world, for #foodwasteactionweek I wanted to show you something super simple that you can make with it, using only 5 ingredients! I can't believe how something this simple could taste so good. Ingredients👇 Or you can find the full written recipe on my website (link in bio) Serves: 3-4 200g of stale bread 2 x 400g can of plum tomatoes 1 red onion 20g of basil 150ml vegetable stock Extra virgin olive oil To season: Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper #pappaalpomodoro #foodwaste #bread #breadislife #whattodo #zerowaste #nowaste #learning #sharingiscaring #tomato #italianculture #soulfood #recipeoftheday #italianclassic #italianrecipe #italianfood #italiancuisine ♬ original sound - Francesco Mattana
"Bread is gold, we need to make the most of it," Mattana declares after clapping the hardened bread together and imploring viewers not to throw it away. The recipe comes from Tuscany and is specifically designed to use leftover bread, per the chef.
The recipe starts with a splash of olive oil and sliced red onions. Mattana then uses plum tomatoes that are crushed by hand before going in with the onions. Up next is salt, freshly ground pepper, some vegetable stock, and fresh basil.
Last but not least is the bread. Mattana cuts it into thin slices and then arranges it neatly in one layer on the tomato mixture. The TikToker then cooks it on a low temperature for 10 minutes, which softens it significantly. From there, Mattana breaks down the bread further so it absorbs even more of the sauce and becomes one with the dish.
The recipe concludes with the chef pouring it into a bowl, adding some olive oil, and using a whisk to break down the bread even further.
"I can't believe how something like this could taste so good," Mattana exclaims. To close out the video, the chef credits La Cucina Povera, or peasant cooking, to the ingenuity of fashioning something so appetizing out of leftovers.
Mattana shared the full recipe in the video's caption, in case you've got some stale bread at home.
How it's helping
Mattana's hack saves an oft-tossed food item, stale bread, from adding to the growing food waste problem. Instead of the bread ending up in a landfill or "garbage lasagna" that you surely wouldn't want to eat, it becomes something delicious.
Similar hacks with baguettes can bring them back to life with even less transformation. Using the freezer more and learning the best way to store food is another way to preserve your food longer and cut down on waste.
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Bought more than I could eat 🛒 These hacks can also save money on groceries by maximizing your haul and producing as many satisfying meals out of them as possible.
What everyone's saying
TikTokers were loving Mattana's recipe for stale bread, and they admired the thought behind it.
"Cucina povera is my thing, love the simple food and using everything and not throwing away anything," a TikToker shared. "Looks so delicious!"
"It's brilliant how different cultures have recipes for leftover carbs: bread, tortilla, rice, you name it," a viewer wrote.
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