Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Roasted Tomato and Fennel Soup

 


 I'm normally not a fan of fennel, but when used in small quantities, it can impart huge flavor to a dish. Roasting fennel seems to mellow the licorice taste. For this recipe, I cheated. I used canned Fire Roasted tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes. If tomatoes are in season, they would be great roasted and added to the soup as well.


Roasted Tomato and Fennel Soup:

1 large can (28 oz) Fire Roasted crushed tomatoes
1 small to medium bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
1/2 of a small onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

On a baking dish place sliced fennel, garlic (cloves left whole) and sliced onion. Coat with olive oil. Cook in a preheated (350 degree) for 25-30 minutes. In a large soup pot, melt one tablespoon butter over low heat. Add in the crushed Fire Roasted tomatoes and turn heat off. Once the fennel, onion and garlic are roasted, add them to the crushed tomatoes. Pour mixture into a food processor and puree or puree using a hand held mixer. Pour mixture back into soup pot if using a food processor. Add in chicken broth and cream and turn heat to medium low. Season with salt and pepper.

I garnished my soup with a goat cheese crostini sprinkled with fennel pollen and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy!




14 comments:

  1. i'm with ya - i only like fennel in small doses. a raw fennel salad, for example, is not my favorite thing. this, however, looks absolutely delicious! i love tomato soup + i bet the fennel would add a lovely hint of flavor to the soup.

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  2. Amy - Thanks! It is a good thing in small doses. I'm also kinda obsessed with fennel pollen right now.

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  3. I love any recipe with fire-roasted tomatoes! I'm not a huge fan of fennel but had no idea roasting it would mellow the licorice taste. I roast veggies at least 3 times a week - I'll definitely toss some fennel in next time & try it. You sold me with the goat cheese crostini topper. Oh man that looks delicious!

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  4. Ally - I just recently started using Fire Roasted tomatoes. They are really good. I love goat cheese, any way, shape or form, ha!

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  5. Oh, I am swooning! This is soup art! I love it.

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  6. Michael - Many thanks. I really appreciate the sweet comment. Thanks for stopping by. I adore your blog and have enjoyed following along.

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  7. This is so pretty...I love tomato soup, but am not sure I've ever made it from scratch! This recipe is making me want to change my position on that!!

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  8. Wendy - Thanks! I'm a soup-a-holic. It is my favorite thing to make. Looks like you had a great time in Indy:)

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  9. Mary - Many thanks! I'm still working on my food photography/styling.

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  10. What a beautiful soup. Yeah, I love fennel cooked/roasted much better than raw! :P Roasting makes them so much sweeter too.

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  11. Amy - Thank you! I appreciate you stopping by:)

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  12. Stephanie, You are so clever. I love your photography.
    Aunt Gogi

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    1. Thank you Aunt G. I'm still learning photography and food styling. It has been a fun, new hobby. Hope all is well with you guys.

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