Creamy Fennel And Watercress Soup Food

FENNEL AND WATERCRESS SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy saucepan.
• Add fennel and onion, cook over medium heat until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add potatoes, stock and parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns and thyme enclosed in a small cheesecloth pouch.
• Simmer 30 minutes, then remove herb pouch.
• Pass soup through food mill or puree until smooth in a food processor or blender.
• Pour puree into a clean saucepan, bring back to boil and correct seasoning.
• Add cream and chopped parsley.
• Place bunch of watercress in boiling water for 3 to 5 seconds then plunge in cold water.
• Drain, cut leaves from stalks, chop roughly, and add to soup.
• Place soup in a heated tureen, garnish with additional chopped parsley, and serve.

CREAM OF FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Cut the feathery tops off the fennel bulbs. Finely mince two tablespoons of the green tops and set aside. Discard the woody stems. Chop the fennel bulbs medium fine.
• Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the onion and chopped fennel bulb, cover and cook over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer 10 minutes longer.
• Puree the soup in a blender or a food processor. Return it to the saucepan and add the cream. Simmer for five minutes, then stir in the Pernod or Ricard and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a simmer. Serve the soup topped with a dusting of chopped fennel tops. If desired, float a teaspoon of caviar on top of each serving.

CREAMY TOMATO SOUP WITH FENNEL AND DILL

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium high-high heat.
• Add chopped onion and fresh fennel (if using) along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. If using fennel seed instead, add that now.
• Saute onions until soft and slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes.
• Add carrot and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
• Pour in chicken broth. Then add plum tomatoes (with the juices), diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and 1 tablespoon of the parmesan cheese.
• Using a wooden spoon, break up the plum tomatoes.
• Add 1-2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2- 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper.
• Bring to a boil then, reduce heat to simmer and cover.
• Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring every now and then to ensure even heat distribution.
• Add the dill and heavy cream and stir to combine. Add 1-2 tablespoons of remaining parmesan, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.
• Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
• Adjust seasonings to taste.
• Take soup off heat and CAREFULLY! blend in food processor or with a stick blender.
• Process to desired consistency.
• Enjoy alone, or with crusty fresh bread.
• Yum! :).
• *** If using fresh fennel, only use the fennel bulb, not the stalks or fronds. Cut the bulb in half, cut out core and discard. Cut fennel into medium dice and add to soup where directed.

CREAMY FENNEL AND GREENS SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil and butter in a 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat until foam subsides. Add fennel, onion, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Add leafy greens (but not spinach) and water to pot and simmer, covered, until greens are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook, uncovered, just until wilted, about 1 minute.
• Purée soup in batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids) until smooth, then return to pot. Stir in cream and lemon juice and reheat over low heat. Season with salt.
• Cooks' note:
• Soup can be made 2 days ahead and chilled (covered once cool). Reheat or serve cold.

POTATO-LEEK SOUP WITH FENNEL AND WATERCRESS

Steps:

• Warm the oil in a soup pot.
• Add the leeks and saute.
• Add the fennel and potatoes and continue to saute.
• Add the stock and bring to a simmer.
• Cook until all the vegetables are completely softened.
• Add watercress, cooking it until it's wilted but still bright green.
• Use a handheld blender until smooth.
• Add the salt and white pepper.
• Enjoy!
• For Vegetarian use vegetable broth.

CHILLED CELERY, WATERCRESS AND FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add celery, onion, fennel, garlic and ginger. Cover pot. Cook until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Add broth and wine. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in watercress. Let stand 5 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
• Ladle soup into bowls. Top with dollop of yogurt, if desired.

CREAMY FENNEL AND LEEK SOUP

Steps:

• 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.

CREAM OF FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook onion until soft and translucent. Whisk in flour and stir until a paste forms, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk water and vegetable bouillon into the saucepan. Add fennel and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until fennel is soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Puree soup with an immersion blender. Stir in cream. If soup is too thick, add more water as needed. Season with salt and pepper.
• Chop fennel fronds. Divide soup between 4 bowls and sprinkle with fennel fronds.