This is actually based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but is the tastiest Lois has found for this traditional Tuscan soup.  We serve it warm in delicate ceramic spoons, so that you can shuck it like an oyster with your aperitivi.

Ingredients (serves 4 as a soup, but about 32 spoons for aperitivi!)
3 cloves of garlic
1 big bunch of fresh basil
500 g cherry tomatoes
Olive oil (the best you can find)
2x 400g tins of quality plum tomatoes
200g stale quality bread, whizzed to breadcrumbs

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Peel and thinly slice the garlic, then pick the basil leaves, finely slicing the stalks.  Put the cherry tomatoes in a roasting try, scatter over the garlic and a quarter of the basil, add a tablespoon of the oil and roast for 20 minutes.

In a separate pan, add the tinned tomatoes, then 1 tin’s worth of water, and another tablespoon of oil.  Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the cherry tomatoes, remembering to scrape all the juices and sticky bits from the bottom of the tray.  Add the remainder of the basil including the stalks (keeping some leaves back for garnish), and give it all a whizz in the blender.

Return to the pan and stir in the breadcrumbs to make a thick, silky, porridgy texture.  If it’s too thick, add a little water.

Remove from the heat and add 6 tablespoons of oil, and serve topped with a little basil for colour.  

Lois bags and freezes this dish in small quantities (particularly when we have a glut of our own cherry tomatoes from the garden), and defrosts as needed.