This easy fennel soup recipe is a perfect way to liven up your palate with the crisp, fresh flavor of fennel. Served cold, it is a great dish for a summer picnic or to entice spring into your kitchen a bit early, but it can also be a lovely dish for those cold winter nights when a warm bowl of soup is calling out to you. It is vegan and gluten free but full of Vitamin A, C, potassium and calcium.
Fennel Soup Recipe (Vegan, GF)
Selecting Your Fennel
Even though this is soup, you still want the freshest stalks of fennel you can find. The best flavor tends to be in the small to medium-size bulbs. You want them to be heavy for their size and firm to the touch. The fronds should be bright green and feathery. Avoid over-sized, or ones with moist spots, splits, discoloration, or appear to be dried out.
Fennel from the summer garden in Denver’s Highlands.
The fennel bulb, which looks similar to the base of a bunch of celery, small onion, or a rotund leek, has a sweet, mild, anise-like flavor that becomes more delicate when cooked.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 cups of chopped trimmed fennel bulbs (3 bulbs)
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 6 cups vegetable broth/stock
- Plain yogurt (optional)
Preparation
Remove fronds from fennel bulb and set aside. It’s ok to leave portions of the stalks, as they will soften quite a bit when cooked. Chop fennel as you would celery stalks. Chop onions.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium to low heat. Add the chopped onion and fennel and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes or until the onions and fennel begin to soften, but do not brown.
Add vegetable broth/stock. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until the onion and fennel are tender, about 25 minutes.
Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return puree to pot and serve hot. Or you can cover and chill and serve cold. It is delicious either way.
Garnish with yogurt and fennel fronds. Enjoy!
More about Fennel you find here.