Atlanta Bread Company use to have a Tomato Fennel Soup that I just loved.  I thought that it must be healthy.  It didn’t look like there was any cream in it but I happened to check the nutritional value on-line and one cup had a whopping 23 grams of FAT.  Holy Cow!!  What the heck did they put in it to get 23 grams of fat for a serving.  Did they dump a whole bottle of oil in there?  The soup was fantastic though so I decided to make my own low calorie, low-fat Tomato Fennel Soup.  Nobody needs 23 grams in a little cup of soup.

I have been enamored with fennel for a few years now.  I love it raw, roasted, braised or even fennel seeds. It does have a slight anise flavor but nothing crazy.  For this soup I decided to roast it.  In fact, I roasted the tomatoes too.  Roasting is actually my favorite way to make soup.  I find I can get that all day simmered flavor from roasting the vegetables.  Forget taking hours to make soup.  Roast the veggies then blend them with the broth.  Violá – fantastic soup!

This recipe will not make a ton of soup but it is certainly plenty for one dinner or a couple of lunches.  It is super healthy and low-fat and help you keep your New Years resolution to eat healthy.  Speaking of which, I am hitting the gym tomorrow.  First time in 3 weeks.  You know I am going to be dying afterwards.  This flu kicked my butt and now I am ready to start kicking a little butt of my own.  I have been very remiss about staying on my diet and talking about it.  NO MORE!  I am back to be accountable!  Let me know how you are doing on eating healthy and exercising.  Let’s stay the course together.

Tomato Fennel Soup (Serves 4)

7 roma (plum, italian) tomatoes, cut in half
1 fennel bulb, cored and cut into 8
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 425º.
2. Place tomatoes cut side up on the baking sheet along with the fennel.
3. Sprinkle vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 50 minutes.
5. Put half the tomatoes, fennel and broth/water into the blender.  Puree until smooth.  Then pour into a saucepan.
6. Puree the rest of the vegetables, broth and water.  Pour into the saucepan.
7. Put saucepan over medium low heat until warm.  Serve.

Nutritional value per serving:

Calories 71    Fat 4 grams    Carbs 9 grams    Protein 2 grams

You can also see this recipe on some of the link parties listed on my Link Party Page