Creamy Fennel and Leek Soup

photo by *Parsley*


- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
- 3 leeks, thoroughly washed, 2 thinly sliced, and 1 cut in half lengthways, and then cut into 4cm strips (for garnish)
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 4 cups chicken stock or 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 1⁄3 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1⁄8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1⁄3 cup sour cream, low fat is fine
- 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup sour cream, low fat is fine, to garnish
- 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to garnish
directions
- Heat the butter in a large, deep (preferably non-stick) sauté pan, over a medium heat, add the sliced fennel (NOT the strips of fennel), sliced leek and finely chopped garlic, and sauté, while stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until the fennel, leeks and garlic are beginning to soften.
- Remove from the heat, and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat the stock, add the rosemary sprigs, thyme and nutmeg and bring to the boil.
- Simmer over a low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the rosemary sprigs.
- Add the fennel, leek and garlic mixture to the pot, and stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Set the pan in which the fennel, leek and garlic were sautéed aside, for re-use later.
- Allow the soup to cool slightly (10 minutes cooling time should be ample), then blend it in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- As each batch is blended, pour the blended soup into another pot or pan, perhaps the deep pan used earlier to sauté the fennel, leeks and garlic.
- Once all of the soup has been blended, stir it to ensure that it is of an even consistency (inevitably some batches were probably thinner than others).
- Stir the sour cream and the 1/4 cup of parmesan into the soup.
- Reheat the soup over a medium heat until it is hot, but do not allow it to come to the boil.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Turn off the heat and leave the soup covered so that it stays warm.
- In a small non-stick pan, heat the oil, and sauté the extra leek for 2-3 minutes, or until softened but not browned.
- Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and top with the sautéed leek.
- Garnish with the extra parmesan and sour cream, and serve immediately with warm crusty rolls.
- Chef's Note: Since posting this recipe, and since last making this soup, I have found and posted a fabulous recipe for vegetable, quite unlike others I have used in the past: Vegetable Stock Recipe #135453.
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Reviews
-
This is an excellent soup. I like that it does not have potatoes. I made it the first time with just butter, the leeks and fennel and herbs. I didn't have sour cream or Parmesan. I was surprised at how silky it turned out without any cream. Now I just make it the same way because everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing. Oh, the 4 stars is because I just throw all ingredients in the pot until the veggies are soft, then add the broth and simmer instead of using the more complex set of steps.
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I made this last night and it was great, I added red pepper flakes and garlic to the leeks and fennel to give a little kick. Didn't use the extra sour cream for garnish and I used vegetable broth to try and bring down the calories! I made the 6 serving recipe and it served 2 for dinner. I'll be making thia again, great taste and easy to make. I also used an emersion blender.
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This was a delicious soup. Unfortunately the fennel taste didn't really shine through as much as I had hoped, but it was still really tasty. I wanted a non-dairy soup, because of religious dietary laws that my DH and I observe, so I omitted the butter and cheese and opted for some soy milk and margarine instead. I realize that this really did alter the result quite a bit...but I kept most of the recipe the same. All in all...a DELICIOUS treat. I will definitely make this again.
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Tweaks
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This was a delicious soup. Unfortunately the fennel taste didn't really shine through as much as I had hoped, but it was still really tasty. I wanted a non-dairy soup, because of religious dietary laws that my DH and I observe, so I omitted the butter and cheese and opted for some soy milk and margarine instead. I realize that this really did alter the result quite a bit...but I kept most of the recipe the same. All in all...a DELICIOUS treat. I will definitely make this again.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
July 2008 update: VERY happy to be back on Zaar after about a two year absence due to having had no internet connection at home, and having been too unwell for a time so that getting re-connected wasn't even a priority!
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<br>And really looking forward to getting back into the Zaar world and connecting again with the many wonderful people I knew before, and new people, of course!