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Tomato and Bread Soup

A tomato soup with toasted bread cubes, onions, garlic, pepperoncini, basil, and optional gorgonzola.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Tomato and Bread Soup

Oven350°F
Time30–40 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the bread

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast until edges are lightly brown, about 8–10 min.

Make the soup

  1. Heat olive oil in a 5‑quart pot over medium heat, add onions and cook for 3–4 min or until they begin to soften.

  2. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and continue to cook, stirring, for an additional 5 minutes or until the garlic becomes golden.

  3. Add pepperoncini, tomatoes, beef stock and toasted bread and bring to a boil.

  4. Reduce to a simmer, add basil and cook, covered, 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve

  1. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls and drizzle with olive oil, garnish with crumbled gorgonzola.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

939Calories
43 gProtein
31 gFat
121 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Plum1 medium (66g)30
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Italian bread
Soaks up the stock and tomato, thickening the soup into a hearty body.
Olive oil
Carries the flavor of the aromatics and adds richness to the finished soup.
Plum tomatoes
Provide the main body, acidity and sweetness as they break down in the simmer.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma that mellows and sweetens as it cooks in the oil.
Beef stock
Supplies the liquid and savory depth that the bread and tomatoes absorb.
Fresh basil
Adds a fresh, aromatic herbal note that brightens the cooked tomatoes.

The step that matters

Golden garlic. Garlic turns bitter and acrid if it burns in hot oil, so cook it gently with stirring until just golden before adding liquid.

Swap the plum

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, olive, onion, clove, garlic, pepper, tomato):

  1. Avocadofits better
  2. Limefits about as well
  3. Cherryfits about as well
  4. Plumthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, olive, onion, clove, garlic, pepper, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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