Chef's Series has returned to Hale and Hearty soup, and I couldn't be more excited. With the recent weather we've been having here in NYC, soup was definitely on the agenda. This time they've changed things up a little. Before they would have a different soup each week, but this time around they're giving each chef's offering a 3-week run. I'm so excited for this every time they do it, and they also benefit such amazing charities in the process.
First up is Mario Batali and his Pappa al Pomodoro soup. It's described as "From iconic Chef Mario Batali comes this rustic and flavorful soup of tomatoes and herbs, thickened with cubes of bread pan-toasted in olive oil. Served with a sprinkling of parmesan, it's a perfect light-but-hearty cold weather comfort soup."
This is everything I could have hoped for in a winter soup. It's warm, it's thick, and it makes you feel like you're at home wrapped up in a blanket. At first glance the "sprinkling of parmesan" looked more like a big glob of slightly congealed, formerly grated parmesan, but that's what happens when you carry it back to your office. When I tried the soup on its own, it was very tart from the tomatoes. I mixed in the cheese a little better and started taking bigger spoonfuls to try and get all of the flavors at once, and what I got was a very balanced, warming soup. The tartness noted before was tempered by the saltiness from the cheese and the pan-fried bread cubes. The bread itself was obviously very mushy from soaking in the soup for so long, but it added a little more texture in comparison to the slightly firmer pieces of tomato. I couldn't pinpoint all of the spices, but I'm sure I saw some oregano in there.
Overall I was very happy with this first Chef's Series offering, and I can't wait to try the rest.
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