Vegan Sauasge, Fennel & Tomato Stew
It’s beginning to feel a little more like winter again around here, at night anyway. I’ve been bundling up & turning on the heater again in the evenings, which means it is the perfect time for soul warming soup…
Fennel & Tomato Soup
While thumbing through the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, I came across this recipe & immediately “dogeared” it.
Not only do I absolutely love tomato soup, I had fennel bulbs from my last CSA share & leftover Field Roast Sausage from my NYE paella on hand. All the more reason to make this soup on a chilly winter’s night.
Upon looking closely at the recipe, it didn’t seem right to me - one large fennel bulb yielding four cups of diced fennel? Hmmmm…I had three small bulbs that yielded almost two cups, & come to think of it, I’ve never seen a fennel bulb quite monstrous enough to yield that many cups. Perhaps a typo, or perhaps fennel bulbs are smaller around these parts? Also the proportion of broth to canned tomatoes seemed too much to me. I wanted a tomato rich recipe.
Needless to say, I was gonna need to make some modifications. Adding onion, & reducing the broth to make it more of a hearty stew.
“Vegan Sausage, Fennel & Tomato Stew”
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 3 small fennel bulbs, diced
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 2 vegan Italian sausages, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
- 1 tsp. fennel seeds
- 2 Tbsp. dry white wine
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus more for garnish
- Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add fennel & onion, & sauté 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in sausages & fennel seeds, & cook 5 minutes, or until fennel seeds are slightly softened & bits of sausage are stuck to bottom of pan. Add wine, & cook 5 to 10 seconds to de-glaze pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add broth, tomatoes, & parsley; cover, & bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, & simmer 10 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, if desired.
- Garnish with additional parsley & serve with sourdough bread.
This soup is hearty, savory & definitely full of lycopene rich tomato. I have to warn you, the fennel & tomato pair nicely, but the fennel seeds really impart that licorice-like fennel flavor, so if you’re not a fennel fan, omit the seeds.
Otherwise, enjoy!
