Roasted Pepper And Fennel Soup With Polenta Croutons Recipe

Roasted Pepper and Fennel Soup with Polenta Croutons

From merlin 14 years ago

A very silky and sophisticated blend of roasted peppers,carrots, onions, celery and fennel, topped with polenta croutons and sour cream

1) Rinse, seed and chop 6 red bell peppers and 2 poblano peppers
2) Spray with olive oil cooking spray and broil until the skins begin to blacken. Turn and blacken the other sides.
3) Let cool and scrape off the blackest parts.
4) In a heavy Dutch oven, sauté the peppers, with 3 carrots, rinsed peeled and chopped, and 2-3 onions chopped, and 3 fennel bulbs, cored and thinly sliced in extra virgin olive oil until soft. Reserve the fennel fronds.
5) Add 2 t dried thyme and 1 T hot Spanish paprika and cook 1 minute
6) Add 10 cups chicken broth and bring to a simmer
7) Cook 20 minutes
8) Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste, and ½ cup cream sherry.
9) Cook 10 minutes until the vegetables are completely soft
10) Adjust seasoning and let cool a bit while making the croutons
11) Puree in batches in a food processor or with an immersion blender.
12) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
13) Slice 2 16-0z logs of pre-cooked polenta into 1 inch rounds.
14) Place them on a non-stick backing sheet, or one covered with wax paper
15) Toss gently with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
16) Toast without turning for 20 minutes, until the polenta becomes brown and crisp. Be careful handling the polenta since it is crumbly.
The soup can be served with or without the croutons. It is delicious both ways, but the croutons do add a lot of calories. Serve with lo fat or non-fat sour cream and the reserved fennel fronds.

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" It was excellent "
nadaism ate it and said...
A Merlin's magical touch on my favorite ingredients. Thankyou for sharing.
Cheerfully !!!!!5
Nada :)
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" It was excellent "
diannehocut ate it and said...
I can't wait to gather my supplies to make this! 5UP

~Dianne~
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" It was excellent "
notyourmomma ate it and said...
Peppers and fennel, yum. Absolutely awesome combination, this sounds sublime.
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" It was excellent "
mystic_river1 ate it and said...
The croutons are sheer genius, my friend.
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merlin San Francisco, CA

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Reviewed by 6 people

The croutons are sheer genius, my friend.

mystic_river1 in Bradenton loved it
Peppers and fennel, yum. Absolutely awesome combination, this sounds sublime.

notyourmomma in South St. Petersburg loved it
I can't wait to gather my supplies to make this! 5UP

~Dianne~

diannehocut in Little Rock loved it

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