Lunch: Seafood and Fennel Soup

Complement this thick soup with plenty of crusty French bread.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced
6 bacon slices, chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup thinly sliced fennel
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon crushed fennel seeds
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 cups canned chicken broth
2 14 1/2-ounce cans diced peeled tomatoes
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 1-pound halibut fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces red snapper fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces sole fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
Chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Set mushrooms aside.
Cook bacon in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat until almost crisp, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add onion, fennel, bell pepper, fennel seeds and garlic; sauté until vegetables are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes, chicken broth, tomatoes with their juices and tomato sauce and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 25 minutes. Mix in mushrooms. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring soup to simmer before continuing.)
Add halibut, red snapper and sole to soup and simmer just until fish is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley.

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