Tomato Fennel Soup

Here’s a good and simple way to use fresh tomatoes and fennel from your late summer garden.  This recipe is adapted from one presented by Julee Rosso & Shelia Lukins in their 1984 Silver Palette Good Times Cookbook (ISBN 978-0894808319).  Note that you will want to steep the aniseed in vodka overnight before using the infused liqueur, so do plan ahead. 

Also, note that while not only is this soup wonderful on its own, it also makes a terrific pasta sauce.  In fact, we used the leftovers to make perhaps the tastiest batch of vegetarian lasagna that we’ve ever assembled.  If you have an abundance of fennel and tomatoes in your garden you may want to consider doubling or tripling the batch and canning up the extra for future use.

1 tablespoon anise seed
½ cup vodka
3 fennel bulbs (about 2 pounds)
2/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, minced
¼ cup garlic, minced
2½ pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cups stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

The night before cooking place anise seed and vodka in a small jar.  Screw on cap and let sit.  Before using strain out the seeds using a fine tea strainer.

Remove the leafy tops from the fennel bulbs, chop, and reserve.  

Coarsely chop two of the fennel bulbs.  Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium.  Add in the fennel, onion, and 3 tablespoons of garlic and sauté until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.  Add in tomatoes and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Puree the mixture until smooth and return to the pan. 

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