Creamy Fennel Soup

It just so happens I got my hands on some soon-to-be discarded fennel, and a lot of it at that. So, what do you do? You break it down, and you make soup. I loved it!

Fennel is a weird vegetable. When I consider all of the other vegetables and look at a fennel bulb, it seems like it grew wild in my backyard and shouldn’t be there.

My advice is to dive in and try it out! They are lovely braised, and years ago, when I competed on the culinary team, I got very familiar with them because it was an ingredient in the first course I prepared.

Given the warmer temperatures, I will say this soup would be good served cold, although I’ll keep serving it warm; then again, I don’t drink iced coffee either. You be the judge.

Enjoy; stay well.

Ingredients:

• 4 fennel bulbs (about 5 pounds), cored and coarsely chopped reserve fronds for garnish

5 C vegetable stock

½ C heavy cream

¼ C oil

¼ C Sherry cooking wine

• 1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, trimmed and coarsely chopped (about 10 oz.), reserve ¼ cup thinly sliced leek for garnish

1 large Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped

1 tsp cardamom, ground

1 tsp coriander, ground

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp sage

¼ tsp clove

3 T basil pesto

Directions:

Add the oil, fennel, leek, and onion to a Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Cover with a lid, stir occasionally and cook until soft and golden — about 25-30 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook-off. Add the spices and stock.

When the liquid boils, reduce it to a simmer, and cook until the vegetables are very soft. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Stir in the cream and pesto; taste for additional salt and pepper.

In a small saucepan, add ½ cup of oil, and heat to 350 degrees. Add the sliced leek to the oil and fry until golden brown; remove and drain over a plate lined with a paper towel.

Garnish with reserved fronds and fried leeks.