Sweetcorn & fennel soup with rosemary & Parmesan crisps
20 May 2011

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the soup:
  • 300g of corn , well rinsed & well drained
  • 4  shallots, peeled & finely sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled & finely diced
  • 1 fennel bulb, cleaned, hard bottom cut out, the green parts & tips removed, cut into pieces
  • 800ml of hot vegetable stock
  • 3 tbsp of a fruity EVOO
  • juice of 1 lemon (optional)
 
For the Parmesan & rosemary crisps:
  • 150g of fresh parmesan cheese, grated
  • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme chopped finely, sprigs removed

Instructions

Take an oven rack out of the oven & line with a silpat or baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 200°C ( 392 F) for 10 minutes.
 
Take a large cooking pot & turn the heat on high. Add the 3 tablespoons of EVOO to the pot. When hot, add the sliced shallots & the garlic. Fry until a bit brown. Stir a lot.
 
After 3 minutes or so, add the corn & the diced fennel pieces. Fry for about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir a lot.
 
Now, add the hot vegetable stock & stir, turn the heat on medium. Place a lid on the pot & boil until all of the vegetables are cooked trough. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir from time to time. When the soup is ready, pour in a blender & blend until smooth or until it is to your liking. This is a thick soup.
 
In the time that your soup is cooking, take your grated Parmesan & fresh rosemary & mix evenly. With your hand, place half handfulls of the cheese thyme mix evenly on the Silpat.
 
With the back of a spoon , flatten the cookies, side by side. You can get about 6 cookies on 1 sheet. Place into the preheated oven & bake for about 5 to 10 minutes until the cheesy cookies are golden brown & cooked.
 
Carefully, take them out of the oven. If they stick to each other, just carefully pull them away. Remove them with a spatula & leave them on a wire rack to cool down a bit. Do the same with the rest of the parmesan & rosemary.
 
Serve with the finished soup.