Corn Fennel Soup with Mozzarella Garlic Bread

In this weather, posting a recipe for soup is probably not the most appropriate. But, after fasting for hours with no food or drink (read my Ramadan post if you want to know why I’m fasting), a bowl of warm hearty soup is the most soothing thing to start the meal with.

This soup has been a tradition in our little family (my husband and I) I picked up from my mom who taught me the recipe. It’s simple and easy. I made it once for my friends and they loved it. Creamy but can still be low in fat. I’ve always made it with ground fennel seeds. Not sure why I never used fresh before. I’m sure I’ll do it again this month, so I will comment back on how to use fresh and how it went.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ground fennel
• 2 c low-sodium chicken broth (can use vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
• 2 c water
• 1 bag frozen yellow corn kernels
• 2 c low fat milk, cold
• 2 tbsp flour

In a saucepan, heat some oil (I used canola), drop the onions and ground fennel seeds, and saute until the onions are tender.

Add the chicken broth and water, and bring to a boil. Add the corn, return to a boil, then simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir the flour into the cold milk in a small bowl. Whisk. Make sure there are no clumps. Pour into the soup and simmer for another 10 minutes. At this point, you can add more milk, water, or chicken broth to get to the consistency you like.

Optional: if you like a buttery taste, you can add a couple of tablespoons of a tub margarine buttery spread (just make sure the one you buy doesn’t have ‘hydrogenated vegetable oil’ in the ingredients).

The Mozzarella Garlic Bread:

These are super easy. Start with a good Italian bread loaf–our favorite is rosemary olive oil. Slice as many as you need and place on a baking sheet (use foil paper to reduce dish washing). Drizzle some olive oil on each piece, a dash garlic powder (or more if you are a garlic lover), a spoonful of shredded mozzarella, and last some crushed dried thyme (or chopped fresh thyme). Bake or toast until cheese melts and bread is a little crusty.