| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 fennel bulb, chopped, about 2 1/2 cups
- 1/2 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- One 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
- 2 cups homemade vegetable broth or low-sodium canned
- 2 cups tomato juice
- 6 basil leaves, torn
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- Muenster Sammies, recipe follows
- Sixteen 3 1/2-inch square slices Westphalian Pumpernickel, or other thin black bread
- 1/2 cup apple jelly
- 8 slices Muenster cheese, about 3 ounces
- 8 slices yellow Cheddar cheese, about 3 ounces
- Dill pickle rounds
- Fennel fronds
- Spanish olives with pimentos
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, garlic, salt, fennel seed and crushed pepper, if using, and cook until vegetables soften and brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve juice from the tomatoes, then crush tomatoes gently with your hands. Add the tomatoes, increase heat to high, and cook until they begin to brown slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the reserved tomato juice, vegetable broth, tomato juice, and basil leaves. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until vegetables are cooked through and soup reduces and thickens, about 30 minutes.
- Remove pot from stove and puree the soup in batches, with an immersion, regular blender, or food processor. Stir in lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Serve.
- Toast bread in toaster or toaster oven until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes (or less if using a toaster.) Spread one side of each slice of bread with apple jelly. Layer the cheese over the apple jelly, top with remaining slice of bread. Cut out as desired. Garnish as desired.
Reviews
Yummy soup
WONDERFUL but…please include info on tubes and stoppers…it will eliminate a lot of confusion.
The soup was delicious and the family loved it. Too spicy for some. I traded out Spicy V8 for the tomato juice. We omitted the fennel bulb as the fennel seed was enough for us. Yum!
Made the soup and sammies tonight for my family. Was highly impressed with the flavors of both. The only deviation was that I used two star anise instead of fennel seed because I didn’t have it on hand. It makes a lot of soup. This would be great for grown up Halloween party.
Very easy to make! Tasty! I used pumpernickle swirl bread with ghost, pumpkin and cat cookie-cutters. They were very cute and went very fast!
Although I gave it 5 stars, I have not made the recipe but the ingredients sound great. I have googled the test tubes with stoppers and stand but can anyone tell me what size tubes you have used to serve the soup. I prefer to get the right size before I make the soup in the proper presentation. When I get them and make the recipe I will post my review. Appreciate any info. Emily
Yum! Easy to make and cute! All of my friends liked this tasty treat
You can get the test tube kits from Lake Charles Manufactoring online. They include…tubes, caps and rack …… 50ct for $38.20.
I made the sandwhiches for a party last weekend. Everyone was a little scared to try them, but once the first person did they were gone in seconds. I found a delicious Apple Jam at the farmer’s market. I will definitly make them for parties in the future.
5 stars for presentation! I haven’t tried this, but I think it would be fun to serve Bloody Mary’s or V-8 juice or cherry or cranberry juice instead of the tomato soup.