I love simple meals and this is one of the simplest. A few days before the holidays struck, I realized that I had a half loaf of some very delicious olive & rosemary sourdough in the fridge. Unfortunately, I had let it get stale and hard. Completely my bad. I hate letting things go to waste, but instead of making bread crumbs or croutons with it, I decided to try my hand at making bread soup. It turned out wonderfully and a friend who had unexpectedly stopped by happily ate 2 bowls of it. It’s hearty and it definitely warms the bones and with all of this crazy snow and cold weather that we Vancouverites have had to put up with this winter, it definitely hits the spot.
An aside, I will be in Victoria, BC for a couple of days this week, so please send me your list of favorite restaurants and fun things to do in that city. Gimme your best tips!
bread soup
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 t dried hot chili flakes
1 t dried oregano
4 c vegetable stock
1/2 small loaf of stale bread, cubed
1 small can of diced tomatoes
1 bunch spinach
2 T Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to tasteSaute the onion, garlic and celery in the oil over medium-high heat. When softened, add in the chili flakes, oregano and some salt and pepper. Add in vegetable stock and tomatoes and simmer over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add in bread and spinach, stir and cover pot. When bread is soft and spongy and the spinach is wilted, throw in some cheese. Taste adding more salt or pepper if necessary. Serve with more cheese, if that’s the way you wanna go.
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Perfect, delicious solution!!
this looks very fresh and simple. yum!
Best restaurants in Victoria? Hoboy, there are so many: Pagliacci's, Ferris's Oyster Bar, John's Place (for breakfast), Eugene's Greek, and Futaba… Murchie's for tea & scones. Pacific Rim for pizza by the slice. I could go on & on.
The reef in victoria has a partially different menu from the main st reef… also, go to pig. Best pork ever.
I usually just eat at the rogers chocolate factory…
Finally the answer for all those bread heels taking over my freezer… looks good!
very simple, yet flavorful indeed.
we never have stale bread in this carb-aholic household!
So soothing. I could use a bowlful right now. Have a blast in Victoria!
This looks so unbelievably good right now. I can’t wait to have some stale bread!
I love Victoria, but since my MIL moved here (Powell River), we don't get there often. We suggest the Tandoor on Fort St., & Cafe Brio, just a block from the Tandoor, is a great Italian place.
If you're going up the island at all, let us know–we can make more suggestions. 🙂
thanks for the recipe! I feel like I should’ve thought of making soup when we ended up with three bags of leftover rolls from Christmas and a batch that just didn’t turn out (that became french toast sticks). only threw out fewer than a dozen rolls, though–I was pretty impressed.
Well, what do you know, I was blogging about some stale bread today myself, only I went a different route, converting it into breadcrumbs and from there into glamorgan sausages and a bangers-and-mash dinner.
That bread soup would have been another great use for those stale bits, though – it looks like a lovely winter warmer!
That photo looks great, J. Makes me want to have a bowl. Love your photography 🙂 And food photography is one of the hardest things to do they say.
Love – MIL
I also recommend Pagliacci’s and if you’re in the mood for a good pub try The Bard and Banker. (It’s my favourite pub, so far.) I’ve also heard that Rebar is a great vegetarian restaurant, but I haven’t been able to get there yet.
Oh yum – that looks fantastic, and good for you for not wasting that delicious-sounding bread! Well done!
Have fun in Victoria. I love Bubby Rose’s, Murchie’s, Bond Bond Bakery, and Rhineland Bakery. Yum! OH and Market on Yates is quite nice too for takeaway/sandwiches, that sort of thing.
Oooh – lovely alternative to croutons. That would go down a real treat right now!
thanks veggiegirl!
raspberry, it is very fresh and simple! and delicious too 🙂
niki, i’ve been to ferris’ and eugene’s before…i’ll definitely check out those others. thanks!
anon, good to know about the reef! pig? sounds awesome!
yes, use up those old breads, kaitlin! this is a great way to try!
haha, dawn!
thanks hayley, i’m really looking forward to it!
megan, it is really yummy!
jena, nope, just victoria. thanks for the suggestions!
daily spud, those sausages look awesome and are definitely on my to do list!
oooh, i love pubs! thanks for the tip, jabba. i’ve been to rebar before, thanks 🙂
thanks marja for stopping by 🙂
definitely, cookiepie. that’s why i love it!
ooh, cakespy! i love your bakery recommendations!
jen, it’s so much better than croutons!
A great hidden gem in Victoria is Hernandez, its not fancy but the food is fantastic. The owner is from El Salvadore. The coronatas are great. http://www.hernandezrestaurant.com/index.htm.
This soup looks and sounds delicious! I’m wondering what C thought about this soup, you know, since he’s not a fan of soup.
Over the summer I made a bread salad, which I devoured on the spot. It was so good. Bread soup = A brilliant way to use up stale bread!
I can’t offer you advice on where to eat in Victoria because the only one time I was there on a day trip, we were on a budget and only had a sandwich for lunch somewhere near the marina sitting on a bench watching the boats. The scenery more than made up for the meagre food though.
Ohhh Victoria! I love Victoria. There’s a Greek restaurant called Passero’s (http://greatervictoria.com/restaurants/passerosgreekitalianrestaurant.htm) that has the most delicious falafel. Have fun!
I’d like to invite you to take some time to drop by at Foodista and share this delicious recipe with us. We have launched an online food and cooking encyclopedia ala wikipedia. Add a recipe and you can win a $100 gift card to Sur la table. Don’t forget to register first so we know who to thank the recipe for. Thanks! Happy New Year!
I recommend the new pizzeria in cook street village (near Beacon Hill Park), Prima Strada: http://www.pizzeriaprimastrada.com/
And here is Monday Magazine’s (our little equivalent of the Georgia Straight) top eats for 2008: http://mondaymag.com/articles/entry/serving-suggestions/
As for things to do, this may be of interest to you: http://www.tourismvictoria.com/eventDetail.aspx?eID=6367
Hope you have a great time!
I’m sure you’re already in Victoria but here are some more delicious stops for you on your island trip:
If you like Coffee you have to stop at Street Level Espresso on Fort Street, East of Douglas street.
Mole is a great breakfast stop (probably the most popular in the city) and it’s on Pandora.
If you like diner food you have to stop at Floyd’s Diner on the corner of Quadra and Johnson street.
And finally if you like Thai food I highly recommend Baan Thai on Blanchard near View
I did a whole series of posts before Christmas on my favourite Island food places…if you need more suggestions 😀
Enjoy your trip!
Have a great time! My first mentor, George Szasz, has two places in Victoria: Paprika Bistro and Stage. Stage was just awarded Best New Restaurant by En Route. Try to stop in and if you meet the chef say hi from me!!
Yum, bread soup. It’s like intentionally including crackers.
I usually make either bread pudding with my stale bread, or, especially if it’s savoury, cut it into pieces and save it in the freezer for poultry stuffing. When we get a full bag it’s time to roast a bird!
Everyone has suggested my faves in Victoria, so you are well taken care of!
You really should go to Mo;le and drink some coffee at habit next door as well! My two favorite places!
Mmm. I love finding new recipes to use with stale bread. I am bookmarking this one to try soon.
It’s too bad that I didn’t post this before, but next time you’re in Vic, stop at Spinnakers and have some micro-brew and really good food.
I’m not sure how organic/vegan is, but I had the best beer I’ve ever had, with a great meal.
Decently priced too.
juststudying, it was a hidden gem. we never did find it tho we did find out it was in an office building. next time for sure!
bijoux, the husband loved the soup. well he ate it all with no complaints, so that’s good 🙂
eatme, we didn’t eat greek this time out, but will try it next time we go!
cathy, thanks for the pizza recommendation. we went and loved it! we had a mushroom pizza and a spicy sausage one. so good!
seedtosoul, dang, we didn’t make it out to any of those! will keep on hand for next time. thanks!
thanks for the recommendations aimee! too fancy for my wallet, but who knows, maybe next time!
kirsten, i’ve never made bread pudding before (never eaten it either!). will have to remedy that.
leilani, thanks for the suggestions. next time!
gemma, it’s a good one! why waste bread?
anon, we did go to spinnakers and we weren’t happy with what we ate (the natchos). the beer was good tho (but they were out of my favorite…ipa). we really loved the beer at canoe!
I did some substituting around with the veg, but the two biggest differences was I used fresh rosemary and squeezed fresh lemon in at the end, delicious not matter what. I love these quick & simple recipes that can easily have substitutes.
jess, i agree completely! i think your subs sound lovely! a perfect compliment to a winter soup.
I know this post is from ages ago, but I wanted to let you this was THE BEST soup I’ve made in ages.
kristen, thanks so much for saying so. glad you enjoyed it 🙂
i know this post is from a long time ago but i just made it and its tastyyyy
That's my kind of meal when I am alone. That and a glass of wine and a chick movie! Looks perfect!
I`m making this soup right now and my house (which usually smells like stale beer and …something strange) smells heavenly. I never thought you could use stale bread in soup. Thanks for the post! I love your blog!