Tomato Fennel Soup

Browse the recipe Tomato Fennel Soup
Kelly Rossiter Photo
Kelly Rossiter

Difficulty Level Easy

After my initial foray into cooking with fennel I wanted to try different recipes using the anise tasting vegetable. I had a bunch of tomatoes that I had purchased at the farmers market and I wondered how the two would taste if I paired them up. Quite delicious, as it turns out. The anise flavour dissipates somewhat with cooking, but I was at the cottage and my bottle of fennel seeds was at home. I'm going to try this soup again using the fennel seeds, but it was still quite wonderful.

I had some tortillas kicking around in my bread bin, so chopped them into ribbons and gave them a quick fry until they were crispy and golden brown. Then I just dropped them on top of the soup as I was ready to serve it. They melted a bit, but still maintained some texture and they were a nice addition to the soup. It would also be delicious with garlic croutons or a piece of crostini with some garlic and maybe a bit of Parmesan cheese on top of it as the garnish.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
croutons for garnish

PREPARATION:

  1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more.
  2. Add fennel and tomatoes and stir. Add stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until fennel is tender about 15 minutes.
  3. Puree with an blender or an immersion blender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into soup bowls and add croutons for garnish.
This recipe appears in: Soups