This Roasted Tomato & Fennel Soup recipe brings the best out of seasonal fennel & tomatoes. Roasted with onion & garlic to intensify the flavours this soup is beautifully warming, comforting and will nourish your body and soul!
I love humble tomato soup but from time to time it is nice to jazz it up a bit. Add something else to it to make it that bit different and special. Fennel is my secret ingredient here. I absolutely adore this lovely aniseedy bulb both raw and roasted. Roasting mellows its licorice punch considerably so you don't need to worry about it getting too overpowering. On the contrary, the flavours of roasted fennel and tomatoes marry beautifully and work their magic!
Which part of fennel can I use for this soup?
Fennel is edible in its entirety including stalky bits with feathery fronds on top (you can save them for garnish). Depending on how fresh your fennel is sometimes the stalky bits can get a bit dry and look not too appealing. If that's the case, simply cut them off and discard.
Which tomatoes are best to use in this soup?
During the season when all tomatoes are beautifully sun-kissed and ripe it really doesn't matter. I went for vine variety of organically grown British tomatoes from my veggie box but you can use whatever type you've got available. Plum and even cherry tomatoes will be absolutely fine here too. Roasting brings out so much flavour especially when in season so if you've been given some home-grown tomatoes from your neighbours or family or some local ones from farmers' market, make sure you take full advantage and use them not only for soups but perhaps sauces too! Check out my Roasted Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce which is a favourite in our house and takes only 30 minutes to make from start to finish!
What to serve Roasted Tomato & Fennel Soup with?
I love to serve this soup with a drizzle of my Wild Garlic & Walnut Pesto which I make lots of when wild garlic is in season and freeze in little portions. Simple drizzle of good, extra virgin olive oil or my favourite chilli oil* would work nicely here too. If you don't have chilli oil try sprinkling some chilli flakes instead for that little bit of heat. You can also use leftover fennel fronds as suggested above, homemade croutons or a nice chunk of bread (try my Irish Soda Bread or Easy Wholemeal Bread)! These Vegetarian Sausage Rolls or my latest favourite Vegan Cheese Scones wouldn't go amiss either. So many options!
Storing & freezing
This Roasted Tomato & Fennel soup will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Make sure you don't overfill your containers/bags when freezing soup as it will expand slightly in the freezer.
How to make Roasted Tomato & Fennel Soup Recipe - Step-By-Step
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
- Prepare your vegetables. Wash and halve your tomatoes. If using large fennel bulb, wash and halve it first and then cut each half into 4 slices. If you're using smaller fennels simply cut them into quarters. Peel red onion and cut it into rough chunks. Peel garlic cloves.
- Arrange all the vegetables in a large roasting tin, sprinkle them with dried thyme, salt, pepper and drizzle over some olive oil. Roast in a preheated oven for approx. 25-30 minutes until veggies start to shrivel up and char slightly at the edges
- Put roasted vegetables into a saucepan large enough to fit all the veggies with some room to spare for your stock. Puree the vegetables using hand blender and adding vegetable stock to loosen the mixture up until your soup is smooth and you've used up all the stock.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if required.
- Serve and enjoy!
Roasted Tomato & Fennel Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh, ripe vine tomatoes washed and halved
- 1 large fennel (or 2 small) washed, halved and each half cut into 4 slices
- 4 plump garlic cloves peeled
- 1 large red onion peeled and cut into rough chunks
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or use fresh if available
- 4 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil
- 500 ml vegetable stock from cube is fine (I use Kallo*)
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
- Prepare your vegetables. Wash and halve your tomatoes. If using large fennel bulb, wash and halve it first and then cut each half into 4 slices. If you’re using smaller fennels simply cut them into quarters. Peel red onion and cut it into rough chunks. Peel garlic cloves.
- Arrange all the vegetables in a large roasting tin, sprinkle them with dried thyme, salt, pepper and drizzle over some olive oil. Roast in a preheated oven for approx. 25-30 minutes until veggies start to shrivel up and char slightly at the edges
- Put roasted vegetables into a saucepan large enough to fit all the veggies with some room to spare for your stock. Puree the vegetables using hand blender and adding vegetable stock to loosen the mixture up until your soup is smooth and you’ve used up all the stock.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if required.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving and should be treated as a guideline only.
- Store in the fridge for 3-4 days or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Make sure you don’t overfill your containers/bags when freezing soup as it will expand slightly in the freezer.
- Serving Suggestions: Wild Garlic & Walnut Pesto or any pesto you've got available, chilli oil*, chilli flakes, extra virgin olive oil, leftover fennel fronds, croutons, crusty bread.
Nutrition
SOME MORE SEASONAL SOUP INSPIRATION:
Butternut Squash & Chestnut Soup
Easy Leek & Potato Soup with Celeriac
Instant Pot Ginger Spiced Beetroot Soup
Instant Pot Creamy Cauliflower Cheese Soup
Jerusalem Artichoke & Carrot Soup
Veg Box Spinach & Mushroom Soup
If you are soup lover and maker and not vegetarian you might want to make your own chicken stock too. Feel free to check out my guide on How To Make Chicken Stock in Instant Pot (with instructions for hob/stovetop users too).
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Elsa says
hmmm by the look and ingredients, it should be delicious ☻
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Elsa! 😉
jacqui says
Love the idea of adding fennel top the tomato soup and the garnish sound divine I must try it. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Jacqui! It is such a lovely soup, I hope you like it.
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This looks so tasty, what a lovely twist on tomato soup!
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Kat! 🙂 It is super tasty!
tastebotanical says
This is a great recipe. I love the flavour combination of fennel and tomato. I make fennel soup and tomato soup but have never thought to put them together in a soup.
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you! 🙂 You would think that fennel would be a bit overpowering here but once roasted it gets so beautifully mellow and works so well with tomatoes.