Fennel, Zucchini, & Tomato Soup

Fennel quietly steals this soup. Its gentle anise perfume threads through the broth, lifting the tomatoes and zucchini out of familiar minestrone territory and into something a little more grown-up. This is the kind of soup you’d find at a trattoria along the Ligurian coast, served by the small bowl before pasta.

Building flavor starts with a slow sauté of fennel and onion in generous olive oil, followed by a quick toss of garlic and the summer vegetables. A full cup of white wine goes in with the stock, simmering off its alcohol over 30 minutes while leaving behind wine’s bright acidity to balance the rich tomato base.

Peeling and seeding the tomatoes is the step most home cooks skip but really shouldn’t. The skins curl up into unappetizing threads in the finished soup, and the seeds add bitterness.

Kitchen Tips

• Score the tomato skins with an X, dunk 30 seconds in boiling water, then shock in ice water. Skins slip right off.
• Trim fennel fronds but save them as garnish. They taste like fresh dill.
• Simmer covered so the liquid doesn’t reduce too much. A properly simmered soup should be brothy, not stewy.
• Use a dry, unoaked white wine like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. Oaky wines turn bitter when reduced.

Variations

• Stir in cooked cannellini or small pasta like ditalini 10 minutes before serving for a heartier version.
• Finish each bowl with a Parmesan rind simmered in the pot for umami depth.
• Add a chopped zucchini of yellow summer squash for color contrast.