Wild Fennel Soup
Zuppa di Finocchietti Selvatici
Baked soup with Sardinian bread and wild fennel, pecorino and fresh cheese, served hot.
Wild fennel soup is a rustic oven-baked preparation, designed to transform the day-old bread in a warm, soft and tasty dish. In this Sardinian version, the herbaceous character of the fennel meets the saltiness of the pecorino seasoned, the aromatic sweetness of the onion, and the melting texture of the fresh cheese. Toasted Sardinian bread provides a textured base, capable of absorbing the fennel cooking water and becoming tender during the oven baking. Baking at 180°C (356°F) completes the ensemble with a golden and fragrant surface, while the layers maintain a pleasant contrast between soft bread crumb Stewed meat, chopped vegetables, and melted cheese. It's a hearty dish, best served hot, where a few ingredients are enhanced through browning, layering, and gratinating.
Instructions
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8 steps · natural Italian voice
Boil the fennel
Boil the wild fennel in salted water until tender. Drain, squeeze well, and reserve all the cooking water: it will be used to flavor and soften the bread. Once thoroughly dried, chop finely, so it's evenly distributed throughout the soup.
Toast the bread
Lightly toast the slices of stale Sardinian bread, without over-browning them. The bread should have a slightly golden surface and a drier texture, while maintaining a structure that will absorb the aromatic moisture from the fennel during baking.
Prepare the soffritto
Chop the onion and brown it in a saucepan with three spoonfuls of extra virgin olive oil together with the clove of garlic. Wash and desalt the sun-dried tomatoes, add them to the soffritto and cook until the onion is soft and the aroma is intense. Then remove the garlic.
Season the fennel
Add the chopped fennel to the soffritto and pour in a small amount of their cooking water. Let it cook for a few minutes, stirring, until the mixture It appears moist and well blended. Taste and season with salt to taste only if necessary, considering the flavour of the sun-dried tomatoes and of the pecorino.
Build the first layer
Arrange in one baking dish a neat layer of toasted bread slices. Pour half of the mixture on top of the mixture of fennel and distribute it evenly. Soften the bread with a little of the cooking water, adding it gradually: the slices should be moist, not submerged.
Add cheeses and bread
Dust the first layer with some of the pecorino grated seasoned cheese, then cover with thin slices of pear or other fresh cheese. Continue alternating bread, fennel mixture, pecorino and fresh cheese until the ingredients are used up, adjusting the humidity with more cooking water.
Complete and bake
20 minFinish with a sprinkling of pecorino seasoned and bake it baking dish at 180°C (356°F) for about 20 minutes. The soup is ready when the surface is golden brown and the cheese is melted, while the layers are soft and combined without completely losing their consistency.
Serve the soup hot
Remove the wild fennel soup from the oven and serve it hot. Serve immediately after cooking, while the fresh cheese is still soft. pecorino fragrant and the bread absorbed the aromatic water without being dry.
Chef's Tips
The editors recommend softening the bread little by little with the fennel water, so the soup stays moist but retains recognizable layers.
Ingredients
- Ingredients for 4 people
- (17.64 oz) 500 g of slices of stale Sardinian bread (Osilo loaf)
- ½ pear of cheese or other type of fresh cheese
- (3.53 oz) 100 g of pecorino grated seasoned cheese
- (3.53 oz) 100 g wild fennel
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 sun-dried tomatoes
- extra virgin olive oil
Can't find it in the US?
- pecorinoMost US supermarkets
Pecorino Romano is the easiest to find
It is saltier than most Italian pecorino: taste before adding salt.
⚠️ Automatic ingredient-based detection. Always check product labels.
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