Local tomatoes and fennel make tasty autumn soup

Tomato soup made from scratch? Little toasted cheese soldiers to accompany? Who could ask for more?

At this time of year, one can usually find some good bargains on bulk tomatoes at the farm stands. The frost has ended the growing season, although we’ve had some remarkable record-breaking high temperatures since then, so a few folks who provided protection are still harvesting.

This has been a good year for fennel as well, and these beautiful bulbs often come with long sturdy stems and fronds that all can be used to create a soup with tons of flavor. So many fronds and stems that, when I cut the bulbs off my two fat beauties, I knew I would use the abundant remainder to make a flavorful stock.

Additionally, one fennel bulb sliced very thin was all I needed to make a lovely little side salad, paired with thinly sliced purple onion from the farm stand, radicchio and chunks of dried apricot in a simple vinaigrette.

That left me with a second monster fennel bulb and enough tops to fill my large compost bucket. However, they were not quite ready for compost. I think it is important to think about how our grandparents and great-grandparents approached food in the Depression and before and after. Every scrap saved and used. Every bit of flavor and nutrition extracted. Nothing went to waste.

The addition of an onion, a sorry carrot, a bay leaf, a few odd vegetable and mushroom scraps, transformed those fennel stems and fronds into a stock so flavorful it could be served by itself as broth. Once you start thinking of these scraps as a treasure, a windfall, you will never pay $5 for a quart of vegetable or chicken stock again.

Whatever was left after the simmering was happily dispatched into the compost bucket.

The fennel and tomato are a lovely combination. If you don’t have fronds on your fennel to make stock, just make a vegetable stock from your refrigerator scraps and add some additional crushed fennel seeds, or, in a pinch, just use vegetable stock in this recipe. It won’t have as much fennel flavor, but it will still be delicious; it’s tomato soup after all.

I used the oddball field tomatoes and Romas, plus the last of my own cherry tomatoes, for more flavor, but frankly most tomatoes will do well here. If you don’t have a bounty of fresh tomatoes or if it is the middle of winter, just use a 28-ounce can of organic diced or whole tomatoes. It will work fine.

There is always a swap. If it is homemade with love, it will be delicious. Who doesn’t love tomato soup on a crisp, or even 70-degree, autumn day?

Photos by Dorothy Grover-Read. The late harvests combine for comfort soup at its best.
Photos by Dorothy Grover-Read. The late harvests combine for comfort soup at its best.
Harvest tomato and fennel soup

Heat a heavy stock pot over medium high and add a couple of tablespoons of fruity olive oil. Toss in:
1 large leek or onion, diced
1 large fennel bulb, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
A large pinch of salt.

Let cook until everything has softened. Then add 1/2 cup tomato paste.
Let this mix in well with the other ingredients and the flavor bloom. Add 1/2 cup dry red wine.

Let this simmer for five minutes or so to let the alcohol evaporate, then add:
1 quart chopped tomatoes, Roma or other
1 quart fennel or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

It’s your choice whether to seed the tomatoes or not. I just leave them in.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer and continue simmering for a half hour. You can also place this in a 300-degree oven to finish off.

The house should smell really good just about now.

Purée with an immersion blender, standard blender, food processor or food mill. I use either the immersion blender or food mill, the former being less cleanup, but the latter producing the best texture. Your choice. Your time.

Garnish with a few fennel fronds, a drizzle of olive oil, maybe some croutons and serve with grilled or toasted cheese. We love making little toasted cheese soldiers, so everyone can have as many or few as they want, and they are fun to dunk.

Cream of tomato, fennel soup

About half of us like tomato soup straight up, there are those in the family who like theirs with a splash of cream of some sort.

Before concerns about cholesterol in our family, I used half-and-half or light cream to everyone’s desired whiteness, but you can substitute light coconut milk and keep it vegan as well.

Make your own fennel stock

In a large stockpot, combine a big bunch of fennel stems and fronds, a cut-up onion, skins and all, a large carrot, old and limp from the bottom of the crisper is fine, mushroom pieces and stems if you have them, a teaspoon of fennel seeds and whatever other little scraps of vegetables you have on hand. Bring this to a boil, then simmer for a half hour. Let cool to room temperature, then strain.

Toasted cheese soldiers

These are perfect for dunking.

Lightly toast a few slices of wholegrain bread. Slice into strips along the short side, usually four or five per slice depending on the loaf. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan, vegan Parmesan, cheddar or other melting cheese. Pop under the broiler until melted and starting to bubble and brown. Try to let them cool a few moments before attempting to eat.