Soup feeds the soul and after a day of being active in the fresh air on Vis Island, Croatia or in the Austrian Alps. This Tomato and Fennel soup is the perfect way to start a meal. The Sunflower Seed pesto is also a lighter than your normal pesto and obviously without dairy. We also love to use this pesto as a filling for our picnic sandwiches when we are on a full days hike or an extended kayak trip. The pesto also contains Nutritional Yeast, which is a great source of Vitamin B.
Serves 4 very hungry people..
Soup Ingredients.
1 tbls olive oil
1 sliced onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 tbls freshly chopped thyme
2 sliced fennel bulbs
1 tbls tomato paste
6 large plum tomatoes
1 400g tin of tomatoes
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
400ml veg stock
Salt and pepper
Pesto Ingredients.
1tbls olive oil
A pinch of chilli flakes
2 tbls Nutritional Yeast
4 tbls sunflower seeds
1 garlic clove
Juice of half a lemon
2 tbls water
Soup
Chop the plum tomatoes and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. In a saucepan, fry the onion, garlic and a pinch of salt in the olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the thyme leaves, tomato paste and fennel and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the rest of the soup ingredients, including the roasted tomatoes, bring to the boil, simmer and cook for 45 minutes. You may have to add a bit of extra water.
Once cooked, remove from the heat, blend until smooth and check for seasoning.
Pesto
Whiz all the ingredients in a small blender or use a pestle and mortar. You may want to add more lemon and a bit more seasoning.
Please let us know if you have any other soup recipes that you think our guests would love at WearActive Croatia or Austria. We also have added a Creamy Tomato Soup to our recipe blog.
Happy cooking!