Tomato & Fennel Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• half small fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 800g tomatoes
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 100 ml vegetable stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan then add the onions, fennel seeds and bay leaf, fry gently for a minute. Then add the garlic, chopped fennel bulb and tomato purée and continue to fry gently, stirring occasionally for a further 8 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

While the onion and fennel are cooking, prepare the tomatoes. Remove the green stalk and cut the tomatoes in half vertically. Carefully cut out the core from the top of the tomatoes. The stalk and core can be a little tough and they don’t break down much on cooking, so it is worthwhile to remove it for a better textured soup.

Now add the tomatoes, stock, white wine vinegar and sugar and cook on a medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring now and then to prevent them from sticking on the bottom of the pan.

When the cooking time is up and the tomatoes have fully broken down, it is now time to blend the soup. You can use either a stick blender or liquidiser to blend the soup into a smooth consistency.
Season with fresh ground black pepper and add salt to taste.

Ladle into bowls and serve with some crusty bread or our Pesto Swirl Rolls.