Rustic Tomato and Fennel Soup

Here's the answer to a chilly wintery afternoon. A gorgeous, thick soup, full of flavour and begging to be devoured with a chunk of crusty warm bread, drizzled with olive oil.

If tomatoes are in season (and oh so cheap), then this recipe is best prepared with fresh, vine ripened tomatoes. However, if you happen to have some large cans of whole, peeled tomatoes in your pantry (like we do, always), then this recipe is even faster to prepare.

Tomato and Fennel Soup
Serves: Oh, plenty!

2- 3 Tbs olive oil
2 medium fennel bulbs
1 large brown onion
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves finely chopped
1 Tbs fennel seeds
1.5 kg tomatoes or 2 x 800g cans of whole, peeled tomatoes*
3/4 cup vegetable stock**
water
sea salt and pepper
red wine vinegar
olive oil, crusty bread and parmesan to serve

To prepare the fennel bulbs, trim the stalks and base of the bulbs, quarter the bulbs and thinly slice. Slice the onion the same way.

Fresh thyme growing in my garden. Feeling proud that I haven't killed it- It's such a hardy herb!

In a large, heavy based pot (we use a large Le Chasseur french oven) heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the fennel and onion until the onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and cook, stirring until the onion becomes translucent. Add the fresh thyme and fennel seeds (smell that cooking, oh yum!).

* If you're using fresh tomatoes, remove the stalks, score a 'x' in the base of the tomatoes and blanch for several minutes in a large pot of simmering water. Drain and soak the tomatoes in cold water, remove the skin with a paring knife and quarter the tomatoes.

** You will need 3/4 cup of vegetable stock for this recipe if you use fresh tomatoes. I use fresh tomatoes when they're in season, otherwise prepare the soup using tinned tomatoes (below).

Using tinned tomatoes, add the liquid from each can to the pot and stir to combine. Smash the tomatoes in the tins with a wooden spoon, then add to the pot with one cup of water, stir. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook for a further 50 minutes. The soup is ready when the fennel is softened and the tomato soup has a well rounded flavour. Add salt and pepper to taste, a splash of red wine vinegar will lift the flavour too.

Serve drizzled with olive oil, add finely grated parmesan for a non-vegan soup. Sometimes I like to serve this gorgeous soup with thick slices of gluten free toast topped with grilled parmesan. It's a little luxury to dip these cheesy pieces of hot toast into the thick soup.

Wholesome, organic ingredients direct from the farmer. Winter perfection.

How do you serve your favourite soup?

Bella xx

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Slow Roasted Tomatoes and Roast Tomato Pesto

I missed the organic farmers markets this week. Bummer. Work and life got in the way and so I found myself racing to Mother Natures Top Fruit Market (my Plan B) late Friday afternoon on my way home.

Organic vine ripened (truss) tomatoes greeted me with their swollen red bellies, plump and ready to be devoured raw with a sprinkle of sea salt. I carefully lowered bunch after ripe bunch into my cotton bag before making my way to the check out where a very happy lady smiled in approval at my hoard before handing me three free small fennel bulbs. Thank you very much! My head was spinning with tomato recipes and I could barely keep up as I loaded my heavy bag into the car and made my way home.

To my surprise (and delight), Byron greeted me with baked chicken, thyme and mushrooms in golden gluten free puff pastry blankets, thick slices of roasted salted eggplant, buttered corn on the cob and slightly crunchy stalks of vibrant green broccoli. Swoon.

I placed the bulging bag of tomatoes on the kitchen table and joined Byron in our garden for the delicious feast he had created. There's something special about love and food. You can always tell when meals have been prepared with love because it translates through in the flavours. The smell greets you and tempts you to taste, whilst the flavours amplify the love in some kind of mysterious, intoxicating way that can be appreciated at any age.

That's how he won me over, you know? With the best four course meal ever made for a girl on her birthday. But that's a story for another day… Today I'm going to skip ahead from this perfect meal to those patient little tomatoes spilling out of that soft bag. Truss tomatoes that were destined to be transformed three different ways, beginning with a gentle slow roasting…

Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Coriander
Makes approximately 26 halves

1.5kg Truss tomatoes, vines removed.
1-2 Tbs Olive oil
Sea or Himalayan salt and ground coriander to season

Preheat your oven to 110 degrees Celsius (230 F). Rinse and dry the tomatoes, remove the stalks and halve lengthways. Place the halves into a large bowl, pour in the olive oil and toss to coat evenly. I love to use my fingers to do this!

Arrange tomato halves cut-side-up on a lined, large baking tray (omit the baking paper if the tray is non-stick) and sprinkle with sea salt and ground coriander.

This is a loose recipe, how much salt you choose to use it up to you but I find a generous amount, perhaps 1/4 of a teaspoon each of salt and ground coriander every four tomato halves should be sufficient. Play around with the recipe though, you may like to include some whole garlic cloves, gently smashed with the flat side of a knife and sprinkled between the tomato halves.

Roast, uncovered for 4 to 6 hours. I set my alarm for every two hours to check the tomatoes and turn the dish around in the oven. The tomatoes are cooked when they reduce to approximately half their original size, the edges crinkle similar to the top of patty cake paper cases and the middles are still juicy. Perfection!

Another handy hint: Use Roma tomatoes, they're less juicy and take less time to roast and Oh! The flavour!!

Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature, before storing, covered in the fridge for up to one week.

These gorgeous slow roasted tomatoes are best served warm, on a taster plate before a meal, as a garnish to pasta with warm crusty bread and soft cheese or in the delicious pesto recipe below (which makes a fine pasta sauce with the addition of a little extra olive oil!).

Slow Roasted Tomato Pesto

1/3 cup Olive oil
1 generous pinch of salt
1 garlic clove
1 cup sweet basil
1 to 1 1/2 cups cooled slow roasted tomatoes (approx half the batch from the previous recipe)
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

In a high powered blender or food processor, combine the oil, salt and garlic. Pulse until the garlic resembles a chunky paste. Add the basil leaves and blend until smooth. Add the tomatoes and process, then finally add the parmesan and pulse until just combined. Taste, season further if required.

This pesto will keep in the fridge for up to one week in a sealed container. It's perfect as is, with a toasted baguette torn into chunks or as a tasty dip for crackers, olives and crumbly cheese.

As a pasta sauce, add a little more olive oil to thin the pesto, pulse and serve hot over your favourite pasta.

Byron chose to eat his with spinach and red pepper fettucini, extra shaved parmesan and a drizzle of oil to lift the pasta.

I served mine the same way, but with my favourite gluten free spaghetti. The only thing missing was a glass of red, but I guess that will have to wait until after Pecan arrives.

I've tried this pesto recipe using fresh tomatoes but it's nowhere near as good as this one. The slow roasted flavour adds an almost smokey sweetness to the pesto, kind of like the way a beautifully aged wine improves after it is allowed to breathe.

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Do you recall the free fennel bulbs I was gifted at the fruit shop? Well as you can probably guess, I have yet another tomato recipe for you: A delicious tomato soup with fennel. I'll post it a little later but if you'd like a sneak peek, check out my instagram account @seaandsalt for a mouth-watering little snap (and feel free to follow me if you like, I've got a lotta instalove to give…).

Have you got Tomato Fever!!!? I think the recent peak in my tomato obsession may be due to pregnancy cravings, although I can't be sure. Do pregnancy cravings really exist? Perhaps it's the change in seasons. Something to ponder over my pesto pasta, ha ha.

Bella xx

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Our Little Herb Garden

Late last year, as the daylight hours grew longer with each passing day and the temperature began to soar, we packed up our entire lives into cardboard boxes and moved to a beautiful seaside house.

Within our first week I had accumulated the first seeds for my future vegetable garden. I hastily planted a rosemary root, plucked from my mother's garden, planted cherry tomato seeds and pushed tiny black basil seeds into the soft earth.

Fast forward almost three gorgeous Summery months and the dried, spiky brown rosemary root has been ripped from it's tiny grave and tossed into the green waste bin for collection. How does one kill rosemary? My mother said it was one of the most durable, low-maintenance plants to have in my garden and that I couldn't kill it if I wanted to.

Well I sure showed her... I'm not proud of this.

Luckily the basil took off and we can use the first leaves very soon. I cannot wait to serve a meal with fresh produce from my garden, it will almost make up for helplessly standing by and watching as the rosemary faded from lively green to deathly brown. Almost.

Yesterday I decided that I would plant seedlings in premium potting mixture with the finest vegetable fertiliser available. I spent the afternoon heaving 15kg bags of potting mixture into a shopping trolley with a broken wheel. Unfortunately I did not realise the trolley wheel was broken until I tried to navigate my way through the checkout, then zig-zag across a massive car park. I'll call it exercise, my spectators might have called it comedy.

I watered the tiny seedlings as soon as I arrived home, placed them in a sheltered area in our garden and went to bed, dreaming of crunchy green cucumbers, firm red tomatoes and bulging purple aubergines.

When I woke up, I skipped down the stairs wearing my 'Gardening Clothes' because it was time to get serious. I was covered in the daggy threads one might consider throwing into the rubbish bin, but not me! Once outside in the bright sunshine, I began the painstaking work of lifting rocks out of the ground, digging deep into the dirt and removing the soil (Read: It was actually sand, not soil) that had sucked the life out of my rosemary.

On a day where the temperature soared to 32 degrees Celsius (that's about 90 degrees Fahrenheit), I managed to plant cherry tomatoes, eggplant and some of my herbs, including one of my favourite herbs, sage.

I took a break in the warmest part of the day and was surprised to discover how much cooler it was inside. I cooked a traditional Massaman curry for dinner, it's on the stove right now as a matter of fact (smiles smugly) and tomorrow I am looking forward to planting the following: Vibrant green stalks of Italian parsley, a small bay tree with shiny dark green leaves, oregano, fresh mint and tiny cucumber seedlings.

I'll keep you updated on the planting progress and what I eventually prepare with the vegetables and herbs freshly grown in our little green garden.

Backyard bliss!

Bella xx

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