Hearty Bread Soup

Back in 1996, around noon on Sunday, the first day of a week-long cycling trip in the Dordogne region of France, we had just crested a too-long hill when Pat barely caught the word "Ouvert" in the window of a small restaurant. We stopped, entered, and were seated. After a small pitcher of local wine was set on the table, the food started arriving. Two hours later, we exited, totally sated but never having seen a menu, much less ordered food. The first course was a wonderful hearty tomato/bread soup that we dissected to the best of our abilities and served to ourselves and company over the years. 


This past week, Pat tried a variation on the recipe we have used all these many years and it was an enormous success. You can find the new recipe here. The added fennel and peppery smoke of the chorizo combine to create a zesty Spanish version of this soup that, for us, had its origin in the French countryside. Serve as an entree with a green salad!