Tomato Soup with Roasted Red Peppers, Fennel, and Rice

I bought lots of fennel last week. I used up a bunch of bulbs grilling them, and even adding them to my potato soup, but I still had those stalks hanging around. I was determined to use them. After all, fennel is a really healthy food.

I planned to make tomato soup for supper. It was supposed to be a sort of chunky soup, with lots of diced onion, red and green peppers, garlic, and rice thrown in. As I was preparing the onion, I remembered those lonely fennel stalks. I grabbed a few. Chopped them. Added them to the onion that was in my pot... And the result was delicious.

Here's the recipe:


1-2 onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 fennel stalks, diced
1 red pepper, diced (I actually used 1/2 a red pepper and 1/2 a green pepper this time)
olive oil
tomato paste (I used about 500 g. It depends on the size of your pot)
water or soup stock
1/2 c. brown rice (or more, if you want)
salt, pepper, basil, oregano, or whatever herbs and seasonings you like best. Maybe one day I'll pick some rosemary from our yard and try that!

Saute the vegetables in olive oil, till the onion is soft and the garlic and pepper are very fragrant and softened as well. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and bring to a boil. Simmer for at least 30 min - make sure your rice is fully cooked before serving. Enjoy!


This post was linked up to the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop on 11/29/2011