Tomato Fennel Bisque Recipes

ROASTED TOMATO AND FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat up the oven to 200° C / 390° F and grab a large baking dish or tray. Use a larger tray (ignore the first photo - I used it as it looked nice) and ensure there is a bit of space around each piece of fennel to get more caramelisation.
• Coat (or brush if wanting to use less oil) fennel, onion, cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves in olive oil and drizzle the onions in balsamic vinegar. Scatter with thyme leaves, sprinkle with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin and chilli if using.
• Roast for about 25-30 minutes (flipping onto the other side half way through) until fennel is soft and caramelised on both sides.
• While the veggies are roasting, place squashed canned tomatoes and 1 cup of stock in a large pot. Allow it to come to boil and simmer, covered until tomatoes fall apart.
• Transfer all the roasted veggies (deglaze the pan with hot water and add that too) to a blender with some stock, simmered tinned tomatoes and a jarred pepper (if using). Blend until smooth.
• Transfer to back to the pot you used to cook canned tomatoes, warm up and season to taste, with more salt, pepper, balsamic or sweetener if needed. Dilute with a bit more stock if needed.
• Serve with swirl of cashew cream on top and homemade croutons or spiced chickpeas for more substance .
• Cut the bread into an even dice. I went for small 0.5 cm / 0.2" cubes.
• If your bread is fresh, like mine was, toast it on a dry stainless steel pan first until dry and barely toasted. Otherwise the croutons will be greasy.
• Once the cubes of bread are dry, remove them from the pan and wipe the pan with a clean kitchen towel.
• Return the pan to the stove and heat up the oil slowly. Once the oil gets hot, throw the bread cubes in and immediately coat them in the hot oil.
• Allow the bread to toast slowly in the pan, tossing it around from time to time. Season with a good pinch of salt and set aside for the soup.

TOMATO FENNEL PRAWN BISQUE

Steps:

• Warm olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and pepper. Stir to sweat the onion for 3 minutes then lower the heat to low.
• Add the fennel and garlic. Continue cooking for 5 minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook for another 1 minute.
• Add the entire can of tomatoes and coconut milk and raise the heat to medium-high. Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and blend with an immersion blender until it's as smooth as you want it.
• While the bisque is very hot, add the prawns and stir. They only need a couple minutes to cook through. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fennel fronds.

TOMATO FENNEL BISQUE

Steps:

• Combine tomatoes, broth, fennel, onion, garlic, savory and pepper in a large saucepan.
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
• Simmer, covered 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
• Put 1/2 the mixture in a processor and blend until smooth.
• Strain to remove tomato seeds and skins.
• Return to saucepan repeat with remaining mixture.
• Heat through.
• Garnish with parsley or chives.

HOW TO MAKE TOMATO BISQUE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion and celery with a pinch of salt until onion is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour chicken broth and tomatoes into onion mixture. Bring to a simmer and season with paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Turn heat to low and stir rice into soup; skim foam occasionally and simmer until rice and vegetables are very tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Add sugar.
• Blend soup with an immersion blender in the pot until smooth. Whisk 1/2 cup cream into soup and adjust levels of salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and sugar. If soup is too thick, add more broth; if soup is too thin, cook, stirring often, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Ladle into warmed bowls; garnish each bowl with a drizzle of cream and top with about 1 teaspoon chopped basil.

ONION AND FENNEL BISQUE

Steps:

• Wash leeks well in a bowl of cold water, then lift out and drain well.
• Cook onions, leeks, fennel, and garlic in butter in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 15 minutes. Add wine and boil, uncovered, until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add stock, water, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and liquid is reduced to about 6 cups, about 15 minutes.
• Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), then transfer to a soup tureen and stir in Pernod.