Heart warming tomato fennel soup

Ingredients for four portions:

• 1 red onion, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• olive oil
• 3 pieces of thyme, roughly diced
• 2 fennel bulbs, sliced
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 400 gr can of tinned, peeled tomatoes
• 300gr fresh tomatoes
• 400 ml water
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• salt and pepper

This is how you make it

Heat a dash of olive oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic with a bit of salt for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme leaves, fennel and tomato puree and cook for another ten to fifteen minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer over a low heat for another 45 to 50 minutes until everything is soft. Add a bit more water if the soup is too thick.

Remove from the heat and puree the soup with a food processor until smooth.Add salt and pepper if required. Serve the soup in bowls and garnish with alfalfa and/or pumpkin seeds 

This receipe comes from the book Deliciously Ella

Photo; Anna van Neerven