Tomato soup with cheese & sausage toasts
Tomato soup with cheese & sausage toasts
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 bulb fennel
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 long red chillies
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra, to drizzle
- 30g butter
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 5 vine-ripened tomatoes
- 400g can Italian diced tomatoes
- 2 tbsp white rice
- 250ml (1 cup) water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Toasts
- 1/2 thin baguette
- 2 free-range pork sausages (see note)
- 80g bocconcini
- 20g (1/4 cup) finely grated parmesan, plus extra, to serve
- 2 thyme sprigs
Instructions
- 1
Trim fennel, peel onion and garlic, then roughly chop with chillies. Process in a food processor until very smooth. Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add fennel mixture, sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.
8 min - 2
Preheat grill to high. Meanwhile, quarter fresh tomatoes, then process with canned tomatoes in a food processor until smooth. Add to fennel mixture with rice and 250ml (1 cup) water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low–medium and cook for 15 minutes.
15 min - 3
Meanwhile, cut baguette into 8 x 1cm slices on the diagonal. Drizzle both sides lightly with extra oil. Squeeze sausage meat from casings and press thinly over 4 bread slices. Thinly slice bocconcini and layer over remaining 4 bread slices. Place all slices on an oven tray lined with foil, then scatter with parmesan. Place tray 20cm from element and grill for 8 minutes or until sausage is cooked through and browned, and cheese is melted and browned.
8 min - 4
Adjust consistency of soup with a little extra water if too thick, then ladle into bowls. Top each with a cheese and a sausage toast. Strip leaves from thyme sprigs and scatter over soup with extra parmesan to serve.

