Italian Tomato And Bread Soup

You're going to need:

* 4 T. of extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 T of Italian basil, chopped up (keep extra basil on hand as well)
* 1 large can of San Marzano tomatoes with juice
* 8 Roma tomatoes
* 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
* One-half of a yellow or white onion diced
* 4 cups of water
* 1 tsp. of sea salt
* 1 tsp. of fine ground black pepper
* At least one-half of a loaf of day-old crusty Italian bread cut into medium-sized pieces

The measurements above are approximate. I end up using a little less bread and more basil and onion, more of thee Roma tomatoes and a bit more water and pepper. It's not hard to find cans of San Marzano tomatoes. The bread needs to be at least one day old; I like mine stale for this recipe, and I like using garlic bread. Don't be afraid to add other ingredients. Some people fry cubes of seasoned eggplant and add them. Some people sprinkle with cheese before serving.

Preheat your oven to 400. Get a large pot out and heat your olive oil and add in your basil as the olive oil starts to get hot. Let that simmer 'til you can start to smell it doing its thing. Add the San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, onion, water, salt and pepper. "Simmer" is the word here; don't let the food cook to the point that the onions and garlic and basil are fighting with each other or burning. Cut your Romas in halves, clean out the seed and place the meaty parts on a cookie sheet, coat with oil and salt and pepper, and place in your oven and bake 'til the edges of the tomatoes start to brown. Keep an eye on this. Remove the sheet and add it to your pot. Don't let it cool. It really helps to let the Romas brown just a little. Stir everything together. Taste using a cube of bread and adjust your seasonings. Add your bread to the pot and stir. When you serve this you should add just a bit of extra-virgin olive oil and basil on top in each plate.