On Florence’s lively food scene, Benedicta Restaurant recently stepped into the spotlight by giving a humble Tuscan classic a bold new look: ravioli filled with pappa al pomodoro, the traditional Tuscan bread-and-tomato soup. The dish was proudly featured on Foodish, the culinary TV show hosted by Joe Bastianich on Italian channel TV8, where each episode celebrates a local restaurant for its signature dish. In the Florence episode, four restaurants competed — including Alimentari del Chianti, La Boheme, Benedicta and the historic trattoria Da Burde — and Benedicta presented its original, refined ravioli take on the classic.
A bit of background on this dish: pappa al pomodoro started life as humble peasant food, created to use up stale bread and turn simple, honest ingredients into a satisfying meal.
The "Foodish" dish: on the show, Benedicta chose the pappa al pomodoro ravioli as a dish that speaks to history, memory and contemporary culinary experimentation all at once.
One more fun fact: pappa al pomodoro became famous across Italy thanks in part to the song "Viva la pappa col pomodoro," made popular by singer Rita Pavone in the 1960s, turning a humble dish into a pop icon of Italian cuisine.