Sopa De Funcho (Portuguese Fennel Soup)

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Recipe submitted by eablack1

Sopa De Funcho (Portuguese Fennel Soup)

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 whole fennel, bulb and greens, chopped to bite size pieces
1 yellow onion
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1 small can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tomato, choppsed
1-2 carrots choppsed
1-2 potatoes, cubed
1 can drained dark kidney beans
salt

Directions:

In a large pot, cover the fennel, onion,
and garlic with water and cook on medium
high heat until the fennel is tender.
This will take a while- taste the fennel
leaves after the first half-hour (it
will probably take 1-2 hours for this to
occur- just keep an eye on it). The
fennel greens should not be tough to chew.

Depending on the amount of time it took
to cook the fennel you may or may not
want to add more water to the pot. It
just depends on whether you want a thick
heartier version or a lighter broth-like
version. Either is good.

After the fennel has cooked,reduce to a
simmer and add the small can of tomato
sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, and one chopped
tomato. Also, add salt to taste.

Add the chopped carrots next and cook
until they are tender.

Add cubed potatoes after the carrots
have cooked and cook the cubed potatoes
until tender.

Lastly, add the can of drained dark
kidney beans and let them heat
thoroughly for just a few minutes.

A friend of mine made this for a potluck
last spring and it's really great. The
fennel does not overpower the flavors in
the soup so for people skeptical of
fennel this is for you!
I made this for my southern cooking
grandmother and she thought she could
"make it better" by adding chicken stock
to it- she called me after the fact and
told me that she won't be doing that
again.... apparently it's just not the
same. :)

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 2-3 hours