November 5: Sausage, Fennel, and Tomato Soup with Triple-Cheese Toast

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
1 softball size firm yellow onion, sliced
1 thinly sliced fennel bulb
4 garlic cloves, crushed
   Salt and white pepper
1 cup white wine
2 cups beef stock or broth
1 28-ouce can crushed tomatoes
8 1-inch-thick pieces of crusty bread
1 cup shredded Fontina cheese
1 cup shredded Provolone cheese
1 cup shredded Scamorza cheese (smoked, firm mozzarella)

Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add the EVOO and brown the sausage.

Remove with a slotted spoon. Slice and drop the onions, fennel, and garlic into the pot as you work. Cook for 10 minutes.

Add the sausage back, deglaze the pan with the wine and cook for 1 minute, then add the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

Preheat the broiler.

Char the bread under the broiler on each side.

Mix the grated cheese and cover the bread with the cheese. Return to the broiler and melt. Serve shallow bowls of soup with a gooey, cheesy floater on top and a second piece of cheese toast alongside, for the second half of the bowl.

4 SERVINGS

This is the variation on the triple onion soup. I like it much better. The broth has a good flavor and the sausage adds a lot. Instead of Provolone and Scamorza, I used 2 cups of an Italian blend, and I used the smoked Gouda instead of Fontina. I liked this cheese toast a lot! (No harvest grain this time.) I put the toast on the side instead of on top of the soup and just dipped it a little at a time so it didn't get too soggy.