Fennel, Garlic and Potato Soup
Updated Feb. 9, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½large or 1 medium onion, diced
- 2stalks celery, sliced
- 2pounds bulb fennel, trimmed, washed and diced
- 1pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 6garlic cloves or ½ head green garlic, peeled and cut in half
- Salt to taste
- A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs each parsley and thyme, ½ teaspoon fennel seeds and ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns, tied in cheesecloth
- 2quarts water, vegetable stock or chicken stock
- Freshly ground pepper
- Chopped fresh fennel fronds
- Lightly crushed fennel seeds
- Paper-thin slices of fennel bulb
- Garlic croutons
- Shaved Parmesan
For Garnish, Choice of
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the onion, celery, chopped fennel and a generous pinch of salt. Cook gently for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables have softened and lost some of their volume. Add the potatoes, garlic, bouquet garni and the water or stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, add salt to taste, cover and simmer 45 minutes.
- Step 2
Remove the bouquet garni. Blend the soup until smooth with an immersion blender, or ladle into a blender, working in 1½-cup batches. Remove the center from the blender cover, place a towel over the cover and pull it down tightly to prevent splashing. Blend and return to the pot. Heat through, add salt and pepper to taste and serve, or chill and serve cold, with your choice of garnishes.
- Advance preparation: This will be good for 2 to 3 days. Whisk the soup before reheating or serving cold.
Private Notes
Comments
As several have mentioned before, quite bland as described. The delicate flavor of the fennel is completely overtaken and you hardly know this is a fennel soup. I usually make Bittman's version, which is basically a potato leek with fennel instead of leek, and add a dash of Pernod or Ricard liquor to bring out the anise flavor. No need for garlic or celery, just distractions. The parmesan helps but overall a waste of perfectly good fennel:(
Made it exactly as directed except added 1/2 cup heavy cream at the end which definitely moved it from a good but somewhat dull soup to a rich one. Could barely taste the 2 lbs. of fennel. Served it with the chopped fennel fronds and Parmesan which added a lot of flavor.
I just added Italian sausage that also had fennel in it. This soup is now on a whole new level!
Flavors were balanced but texture too thin. Recipe needs less water or stock or greater time to reduce. Served as a main dish with a dollop of crème fraiche, rustic homemade croutons and fennel fronds alongside was chilled creamy cucumber and dill salad. Nice.
Made this with minimum ingredients. Gold potatoes, fennel, garlic, white onion, EVOO, garni pouch, vegetable stock and a good size chunk of hard Parmesan cheese. Simmered, mashed with potato masher to leave the soup chunky. Yum! A hit for dinner on a cool fall evening.
To potato skin lover. What a wonderful idea. I fried mine in olive oil with great results. Will try in air fryer next time
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