Fennel & Tomato Soup
Needs a bit of garnish. Parsley would do well but I was out.
I had tons of chicken stock in the freezer and wanted to clear some out, so I made a couple French soups from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook
Not real hearty so don’t try and make a meal of it. But it’s so easy to put together to add some color and variety to an after-work meal, or to start out a nice dinner. Just sweat the veggies, add the stock, simmer an hour, blend, and serve. So long as you’ve got some quality chicken stock in the freezer, which you should at all times, you can break out this dish without even thinking about it. If you don’t have any good stock on hand, try it with veggie stock, which should work just as well.
Heat & Knives
The Recipe
Source: Les Halles Cookbook
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 fennel bulbs, cored and thinly sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small potato, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 8-ounce can plum tomatoes
6 cups light chicken stock or broth
salt and freshly ground black pepper
In the large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the fennel, onion, and potato. Reduce the heat to medium low and let the vegetables sweat for 10 minutes, taking care to not let them brown. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes more. Stir in the chicken stock; bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.
Remove the pot from the heat and let the soup cool for a few minutes. Transfer the mix to the blender and, working in batches to avoid accidents, purée until smooth. Return to the pot, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and season with salt and pepper.
Fennel bulb slices
Tomatoes added
Chicken stock added, soup brought to simmer
I like to make soup in quantity and freeze it in portions.
