Creamy Fennel Soup with Lemon and Fresh Ground Pepper
Serves 4
This is a beautiful soup with a light sweet lemony parfume...
Fennel is a new favorite vegetable for me, it is sweet and very tender when cooked right.
Take off the tough outside layer and trim the top stalks as they can be tough. I cut off the little green sprigs, if there are any, to flavour the soup near the end.
The lemon slices on top add more flavour than you might imagine and the essential oil adds magic!
Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions - cut in half moons
- 2 good sized heads of fennel-about 3-4 cups - cut in 1/2 inch (1cm) cubes
- Green fennel sprigs - washed and finely chopped
- 1 TBLS olive oil
- 3 cm or 1 inch kombu
- 2 cups oat milk or plain soy milk
- Sea salt
- 1-2 TBLS Ume plum vinegar
- 4 drops of essential oil of lemon (optional)
Garnishes:
- 1-2 Finely sliced spring onions
- Thin lemon slices
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions:
- Sauté the onions in olive oil in the pan you intend to use for the soup.
- Add a pinch of sea salt and sauté until translucent.
- Sauté add the fennel to the onions and saute' another 1-2 minutes.
- Add another pinch of sea salt, the kombu, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil then cover and turn down to simmer on low for 10 minutes.
- Remove kombu and use an immersion blender to blend the soup.
- Return to low flame, add the chopped fennel sprigs, the milk (enough to aquire desired consistency) and the ume plum vinegar to taste.
- Simmer a few more minutes. Do not boil again as the milk may curdle.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in 4 drops essential oil of lemon.
- garnish with black pepper, lemon slices and spring onions.
- Serve.