weeknight dinner: canned tomato, fennel, fennel seed, onion, garlic, thyme, red wine vinegar, sugar, baguette, bucheron. (inspired by molly)
- Thinly slice two yellow onions and two bulbs of fennel. Cook in a heavy bottomed pot with a good amount of olive oil until translucent, about ten minutes. Add several cloves’ worth finely chopped garlic and cook another five minutes. Add two teaspoons of fennel seeds and a tablespoon or so of chopped thyme, and cook another couple minutes.
- Open two 28 ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes in juice. Add the juice to the pot, then squish up the tomatoes into small pieces and add them. Also add a whole can’s full of cold water. Turn the pot up to high until it boils, and then turn it down to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup has reduced some and tastes good, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Working in batches if necessary, blend half of the soup in a blender until smooth. Add the puree back into the pot, and then check for seasoning. Add some sugar and some red wine vinegar to get the proper sweet-sour balance.
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Slice some baguette on the bias, as pictured. Drizzle the slices with a little oil and place them in the oven until they just begin to toast, but have not colored significantly yet. Spread each slice with some goat cheese (I used Bucheron), turn on your broiler, and broil the cheesey toasts until golden and melty. Grind some black pepper on the toasts.
- Serve the soup drizzled with good olive oil and scattered with roughly chopped fennel fronds, with a cheesey toast on the side.
