I used Fennel for the first time in my cooking and it turned out to be a very refreshing addition to the soup.
Before I was leaving for a dinner, my nephew asked me if I could make something nice as his friend was coming over for dinner. I literally had less than half an hour and I had never made this soup before. He also offered help and so both, my niece and nephew helped me with lots of little things and more than anything else, kept me company while I made the soup. They are the sweetest! We completed making it in less than half an hour! It is a very simple recipe and definitely worth a try, hence posting the recipe for those friends who want to make it. Everyone in my family loved it.
Recipe (serves 6 people):
Carrots – 4, large, skinned and chopped
Fennel bulb – 1, medium, thinly sliced (this soup calls for fennel bulb only and not the green stalks)
Orange juice – ½ cup
Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
Salt – to taste
Pepper – to taste
Heavy cream – 1 cup (can be substituted by sour cream or milk)
Garlic – 1 clove, finely chopped
Butter – 1 tablespoon
Vegetable bullion – 1 cube (or vegetable stock)
Water – 7 cups
- Heat butter, add sliced fennel. Stir for 3-4 minutes, then add garlic, stirring again for another 2 minutes. Add carrots. Cook for 2-3 minutes
- Add 6 cups of water. Add the vegetable stock cube in 1 cup of boiling water and dissolve it. Fresh stock can be used instead of the cube, if available. Add this to the vegetables and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let this cook for about 15-20 minutes, until the carrots are cooked.
- Remove from heat, puree it in a blender.
- Heat soup. Add orange juice and heavy cream. As I mentioned, the heavy cream can be substituted by sour cream or milk. If substituting by milk, then you might need to add some corn starch mixture to make the soup thicker. Remove from heat after 2-3 minutes.
- Garnish it with fennel leaves. Serve hot.
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