Chef Michele Casadei Massari shares a great way to save money and add some taste to soups and stews

Some of the tastiest food you will ever try is made with leftovers or food that is slightly past its best but not spoiled and still good enough to eat.

One everyday staple can be used in a variety of ways even when it’s gone stale, you just need to use you imagination.

Nothing beats a fresh loaf of bread but it doesn’t have a long shelf life. Within a day or two, it becomes rock hard and unsuitable for its usual uses – sandwiches, toast or just on its own with a meal.

But bread that has gone stale has many other uses – prevalent in French, Spanish and Italian cuisine. Croutons for example: a stale loaf can be sliced up into bite-sized chunks, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper then roasted or pan-fried then added to soups and salads.

In Spain and Italy, some classic soup recipes don’t even bother with any of that crouton faffing, and just dunk a slab of hard, day-old bread straight into the mix. It soon softens up, absorbing the stock and its flavors. A number of Spanish dishes demand old bread – Sopa de Ajo, gazpacho and all of its variations (salmorejo, porra antequerana…), and it’s a similar story in Italy with Tuscan bread soup (pappa al pomodoro) worthy of a mention for its sheer simplicity: tomato, bread, basil and garlic.

Resuscitating ‘sacred’ bread

Michele Casadei Massari, executive chef at Lucciola Italian Restaurant in Manhattan, knows all the tricks of re-purposing stale bread – a habit that’s been handed down through the generations in his family.

“I did not learn ‘sustainability’ from a trend; I knew it at the table with my grandmother Clara in Monterado,” Michele says. “Bread was sacred. If it went stale, it didn’t die — it evolved. She turned it into pappa al pomodoro, brothy, humble soups, and crumbs for meatballs and gratins. That reflex — never waste, always transform — is the most profound Italian lesson I carry into Lucciola daily.”

Massari’s Pappa al Pomodoro

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 small shallot, minced28 to 32 ounces Oven-roasted tomato sauce14-ounce day-old country bread, torn into bite-size chunks3 cups hot vegetable brothSea salt and ground black pepper to season½ cup torn fresh basil leaves

Preparation

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot.

2. Add the minced shallot and soften for 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add bread; fold in hot broth a little at a time, stirring as the bread dissolves.

5. Simmer gently until creamy and spoonable – 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Season to taste with sea salt.

7. Remove from heat and fold in basil. Let the soup rest for 5 minutes.

8. Serve with a final drizzle of remaining olive oil and black pepper.