Recipe: Tomato-Fennel-Chickpea Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons (makes 8 quarts)

TOMATO-FENNEL-CHICKPEA SOUP
WITH AMANDA'S GRILLED CHEESE CROUTONS
"I love black licorice and anise-flavored anything, so fennel is kind of my dream vegetable. As an alternative to pesto, crumble in blue cheese at the end, like the salty-creamy Bleu d'Auvergne. This soup falls squarely into the "... Or Maybe It's a Sauce" category, and my kids prefer it over pasta." - Caroline



4 tablespoons olive oil
6 carrots, roughly chopped
3 medium onions, roughly chopped
1 head of garlic (about 10 cloves), chopped
6 celery stalks, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons fennel seeds, crushed
3 fennel bulbs, white parts finely sliced, fronds finely chopped and reserved
5 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
2 whole sprigs rosemary, tied with kitchen twine
3 bay leaves
7 cups cooked chickpeas (from 1 pound dried), cooking liquid reserved* (chickpeas may be made up to 2 days in advance)
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
2 tablespoons salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
FOR SERVING:
2 cups creme fraiche
Pesto, made with kale, parsley, and fennel fronds or with basil and pine nuts
Red pepper flakes
Amanda's Grilled Cheese Croutons (recipe follows)

In a stockpot, heat the oil and saute the carrots, onions, garlic, and celery for 7 minutes, or until soft. Add the oregano, fennel seeds, and two thirds of the sliced fennel. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the fennel is soft.

Add the tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaves, 2 quarts of the chickpea cooking liquid*, wine, if using, and the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 40 minutes, loosely covered.

Remove the soup from the heat and fish out the rosemary sprigs and bay leaves. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.

Add the remaining sliced fennel and the chickpeas. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the fennel is tender but still crisp. If the soup is too thick, add water as desired. Season with salt and pepper .

FOR DELIVERY:
Include one quarter of the creme fraiche, pesto, and grilled cheese croutons.

TO SERVE:
Reheat the soup and top each bowl with a dollop each of creme fralche and pesto and a big pinch of red pepper flakes - the Italian tricolore in a bowl. Pass around the crontons for dotting on top.

*You need 2 quarts of cooking liquid to add to the soup, if you're short, make up the difference with water.

AMANDA'S GRILLED CHEESE CROUTONS
Makes 32 croutons, enough to serve 8

"Amanda Cohen, the chef-owner of Dirt Candy, the inventive "vegetable" restaurant in Manhattan, messed with perfection - the grilled cheese sandwich - and came up with the perfect crouton." - Caroline

8 slices sandwich bread
8 sliced melting cheese (sharp cheddar and Gruyere are good choices)
2 to 3 tablespoons butter, softened, divided use

Assemble 4 cheese sandwiches - 2 slices of cheese per sandwich - buttering the outside of the bread.

Melt a schmear of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the sandwiches for 2 minutes on each side, weighted down (with a foil-wrapped brick or can of tomatoes on top of a plate).

Take the sandwiches out of the pan and let them cool off for a few minutes, then cut each sandwich into 8 tiny triangles or cubes, as desired.

Makes 8 quarts
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: The Soup Club Cookbook by Courtney Allison, Tina Carr, Caroline Laskow and Julie Peacock