Roasted Fennel, Tomato, and Chickpea Soup

This is a very nice soup.  Next time I make it I will use tomato puree rather than diced tomatoes but that is personal preference.  I don't like chunks of tomato in soup.




Roasted Fennel, Tomato and Chickpea Soup
Yield:  4 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped fennel bulb (about 1 small bulb)
2 cups chopped onion
Cooking spray
1 (15-1/2 ounce) can organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
2 (14-ounce) cans organic diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 (6-inch) pitas, each cut into 8 wedges

Preparation:

1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  Arrange fennel and onion in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray, toss to coat.  Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.  Add chickpeas to vegetable mixture.  Bake an additional 20 minutes or until fennel is tender and chickpeas start to brown, stirring after 10 minutes.

3.  Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic to pan, and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.  Add vegetable mixture, broth, and the next 3 ingredients (through salt) to pan and bring to a boil.  Cook for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Remove from heat, and garnish with parsley.  Serve with pita wedges.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook