Past readers of my Is My Blog Burning? posts might have noticed that I like to combine assignments when I have the chance. This month’s challenge, hosted by Derrick of An Obsession with Food, is to make a dish using stale bread. I decided to combine that with an idea I’ve had to revamp an old family recipe called dinah d’ditty (spellings are guesswork).

The first ingredient of dinah d’ditty is tomato soup. This recipe is Maggie Pond’s from Food & Wine. I thought the addition of orange zest would be a little weird, but it really brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes. The cayenne gives it a little bite that contrasts nicely with the creaminess of the soup. It seemed like a shame to use such a good soup for another recipe, but it made about four or five cups more than I needed, so I have plenty left over.

Dinah d’ditty is, apparently, something my grandmother cooked for my dad and their family when he was little. The original version involves Campbell’s tomato soup mixed with a sharp cheese and Worcestershire sauce, poured over saltines. My dad’s made it for us a couple times. While it’s not exactly good, it is satisfying and cheaply made, leading me to believe that it originated during the Depression. Some internet searches revealed something called rinktum ditty, which is either a variation on dinah d’ditty or vice versa, but the name, at least, seems to be unique to the family.

This version involves the Asiago ciabatta that I made earlier, the tomato soup above, and more Asiago. The result is incredibly rich, pretty tasty, and, according to my dad, still recognizable as dinah d’ditty. It is, however, one of the rare dishes that doesn’t improve the next day, especially if it’s already been assembled. The cheese gets grainy as it cools and doesn’t really blend back in upon reheating, and the croutons lose all semblance of a crisp. I definitely wouldn’t eat this every day, and doing so might kill me, but it’s worth a try once in a while.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Toasted Almonds
1 cup sliced blanched almonds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, very thinly sliced
1 celery rib, very thinly sliced
four 14 1/2-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon orange zest, finely grated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the almonds in a pie plate and toast for 5 minutes, until golden.

2. Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions, garlic, and celery. Cover and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the diced tomatoes and their juices, the tomato paste, and sugar, and cook for 5 minutes. [Somehow, I only seem to find my mistakes when I type them up. I read 2 cans instead of 4, and so used 1 29-ounce can. Also, I used whole skinned tomatoes instead of diced, which was fine since they went into the blender anyway.] Add the stock and cayenne. Season the soup with salt and black pepper and cook it for 10 minutes longer.

3. In a blender, purée the soup in batches. Return the soup to the pot and stir in the heavy cream and orange zest. Simmer the soup over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and stir until melted. Transfer the soup to shallow bowls, garnish with the toasted almonds, and serve.

Dinah D’Ditty
4 1/2 cups tomato soup
6 ounces Asiago cheese, grated
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
6 slices stale bread, cubed

1. Bring soup to a bare simmer over medium-high heat. Add cheese gradually and stir until smooth. Add Worchestershire sauce.

2. Distribute croutons between 3 bowls. Pour cheesy soup over them and garnish with toasted almonds.

Tagged with: IMBB25 + Bread