Roasted Fennel & Red Pepper Soup

Many people hate the taste of fennel because of its reminisce to black licorice. Trust me when I say roasting it until it’s caramelized brings out its sweetness and completely changes its flavour profile. Combining it with roasted red peppers and a few tomatoes creates such a tasty simple soup with almost no hands on work. I definitely recommended some good sourdough bread with this or, even better.. a grilled cheese. I used sourdough bread, gruyere, and prosciutto. So good!

Serves 4

Prep 5 min

Cook 50 min

Total 55 min

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INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 large fennel bulb

• 1 jar of roasted red peppers (mine was 450ml) about 5-6 peppers

• 6-8 large tomatoes - cut in half

• 1 onion - cut into quarters

• 3 cloves of garlic - peeled and smashed

• Pinch of red pepper flakes

• 3-4 cups homemade (click link??) veggie or chicken broth

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Fresh basil or parsley to garnish (optional)

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DIRECTIONS

Pre heat oven to 425’

Trim off the fennel stalks and the bottom of the bulb where there may be some tough root bits. Slice in half and those halves into quarters. Again, slice those quarters. Now you have wedges. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet along with onions, garlic cloves, and tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over a large pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes until caramelized and has taken on some colour. Pour veggies and all pan juices into a large soup pot along with roasted red peppers (discard some of the juice but I always add a little bit), veggie/chicken stock and a pinch of chili flakes. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Add soup to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy (be careful when blending hot liquids, only fill halfway and start slow! Blend in batches if necessary) Pour back into pot and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper and basil or parsley. Serve with sourdough or grilled cheese.