Tuscan fennel and bean soup
Chef’s note: I’ve never been guilty of not making enough soup. If you aren’t feeding a crowd or don’t want to freeze some of this for later (my recommendation), cut the recipe in half. You can vary this soup by using different beans, adding more or less tomato, adding greens like spinach or escarole, or using more or less garlic and red pepper to make it your own.
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (plus more as necessary)
1 bulb fennel with stalks and fronds
1 medium yellow onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium baking potato, peeled
5-6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup canned, peeled plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed
1 cup dred ceci (garbanzo) beans or other bean like cannellini or Great Northern, soaked overnight
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
Water as needed
Salt
Grate the potato. In a heavy 8-quart pot, pour in the olive oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. Before the oil begins to smoke, add the grated potato. While the potato cooks, cut the stalks from the fennel head and strip the fronds from the stalks. Reserve the fronds for later. Slice the stalks crosswise as thinly as possible. If the exterior of the fennel bulb is blemished or fibrous, remove the outer layer. Slice the bulb in half, and then cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
Continue to stir the potato as it cooks, allowing it to form a crust on the bottom of the pan. If the potato starts to burn, add a little water and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom. When the potato is soft with a lot of browning, scrape the potato to one side.
Add a little more oil to the other side of the pan and add the garlic, onion and fennel pieces. Cook the vegetables for about five minutes. Stir the vegetables and potatoes together and push them to the side again. In the clear spot, add the crushed red pepper flakes and cook them for a minute or so. Add the tomato paste, smearing the paste on the bottom of the pan and allowing it to stick and begin to brown. Stir the vegetables into the paste. Then add the crushed tomatoes.
Stir everything together and add 2 quarts of water. Add the sprigs of thyme and beans. Cook until the beans are tender, adding water if necessary. Depending on the age of the dried beans, this could take anywhere from one to two hours. Finely chop the fennel fronds and add them to the soup. Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the sprigs of thyme. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve the soup with crusty bread and a drizzle with olive oil.