Easy & Fresh Tomato-Fennel Soup

There's gotta be something special here and there in any recipe. Even if it's simple. And the specialty here is the very wonderful mix of simplicity and taste contrast. The Soup itself is blended chunky and topped with juicy, slightly caramelized cherry tomatoes.

I am recommending this in all seasons but winter. Winter could come a bit too cold for this dish since the tomatoes on top are served at room temperature.

Blend time 🍅⚡️

Got no Blender? You either need a hand blender or a normal blender for this recipe to come alive. Better get one now if you do not have one already. E.g. check a little Ninja here 👻

Ingredients

• 400ml Chunky Tomato Sauce
• 1tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1tbsp of Sugar
• 1 Fennel (size does not matter. A big one just adds more "fennely" taste)
• 1 Onion
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 250g Cherry Tomatoes (with the green stem end if you like more contrast)
• A small chunk of carrot
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
  
  
• Optional: Some fresh Basil and Chili Flakes

Instructions

I am a big fan of going step-by-step to avoid missing out on anything. However if you want the most minimal description: Fry the tomatoes in the pan separately with sugar and fry and blend everything else.

But let's stick to the plan going step-by-step.

Prepare the caramelised tomatoes:

1. Add a bit of oil in the pan and heat it up to medium heat.
2. Put the cherry tomatoes into the pan and stir-fry them evenly. They should get some brownish spots here and there - this probably takes around 5 minutes.
3. Once they get brownish spots and become a little bit soft add the sugar and stir for one more minute such that it can caramelise.
4. Take out the tomatoes from the pan and put them aside.

Making the Fennel-Tomato Soup:

1. Cut the fennel in big chunks
2. Crush the garlic
3. Cut the onion into small cubes
4. Cut the carrot into small pieces
5. Add some olive oil in a pan and stir-fry the fennel, the onion, the carrot and the garlic for 3 minutes
6. Add the tomato paste (not sauce) and the maple syrupand stir-fry 2 more minutes
7. Take the blender, put the ingredients from the pan into it as well as the tomato sauce. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and blend it on medium level such that it becomes a slightly chunky soup.
8. Bring the blended mass back to the pan (if big enough) or into a pot and reheat it real quick. Make the taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Serving the Fennel-Tomato-Soup the right way:

1. Take deep plates and add the soup to it. Do not fill it up completely but keep it rather flat (~3cm high)
2. Add the caramelised tomatoes in the middle on top of the soup
3. Add a little bit of fresh basil, maybe chili flakes and sea salt.
4. Now enjoy this fresh Fennel-Tomato-Soup 🍅🍃 🥰