Black-eyed pea soup with wild fennel

Yesterday evening I came home late from work and feeling I had to do something useful instead of watching a movie, I decided to make soup for today, because soups always taste better the day after! I came up with this recipe more than a year ago, when my family came over for dinner, on the occasion of my boyfriend's birthday. I remember we all ate fish, except for my father, who was still vegan back then and had asked me to make a Sardinian bean soup. Surfing on the internet I had found a recipe with black-eyed peas, which I used as an inspiration to create my own dish. Though it was a success I have never made the soup again until yesterday, probably because I always forget soaking dried legumes overnight! When it's late and I'm tired there's only one thought on my mind and that is getting into my bed. I wouldn't even dream of doing things related to cooking! But yesterday I was so clever as to do the preparations in the morning! The most special ingredient of this soup is, of course, the wild fennel or finocchietto selvatico, which in Sardinia grows everywhere! Here in the Netherlands, however, it is difficult to find even if you search in Italian delicacy shops. You could always exchange the wild fennel with fennel seed, which is also ever so nice, but not quite the same, because the flavour of the leaves is more subtle. The first time I made this soup it was in the summer, so I could use fresh tomatoes instead of canned, peeled ones, which I've done this time. Both versions are very nice and comforting! Ingredients, serves 4-5 - 300g dried black-eyed peas, soaked in plenty of water overnight - 700g peeled or fresh tomatoes (if you use fresh ones, peel and chop) - 2-3 big organic potatoes, cut into little cubes - 2 stalks of celery, cut into little pieces - 1 big onion, finely chopped - 1 garlic clove, finely chopped - a little bunch of wild fennel or 1 tbsp fennel seed - 1 bay leaf - 1 dried tomato - extra vergine olive oil - salt and black pepper - water Firstly, cook the black eyed peas in plenty of water until they are firm to the bite. How long you should cook them depends from the kind of beans you use and whether they are old or not, but mine took 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a colander and set aside. In your favourite pot, heat a generous amount of olive oil and fry the onion until translucent. Add the garlic, fry shortly and stir in the tomatoes. Cook for five minutes, until they fall apart into a sauce. Add the bay leaf, dried tomato, wild fennel (or seeds), celery and potatoes and stir well. Add the black-eyed peas, black pepper and 1L of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook over low heat for about 35 minutes. Remove from heat, partially blend the soup with an immersion blender and season with salt. Serve hot with rustic country bread. Buon appetito!