Recipes
(Recipe) Fennel Walnut Soup with Turmeric & Leeks
Introduction
Fennel Walnut Soup with Leeks & Turmeric
Every season is soup season in my eyes. The colour of this fennel walnut soup with turmeric wins me over every time. I love adding a handful of toasted nuts to a blended soup because it “creams” the texture up a bit. This also makes the soup super satiating!
It’s cooled off a bit here, so the thought of hot soup and a crust of bread is extra appealing. We’ve been doing tons of Fall gardening and cleanup, so cozy lunch breaks are ideal. I love fennel with leeks and apples in a salad situation, all sprinkled with toasted and chopped walnuts. A warm version of that felt just right.
I will take my anti-inflammatory goodness in any way I can get it, so we add a little spoonful of turmeric to this fennel walnut soup. It dyes the soup mustard-yellow, which is kind of cheerful in its own special way. I pre-toast the walnuts in the pan, simmer them along with the veg and purée them into the soup itself. Strong toasty walnut flavour comes through with all of the leeks, fennel and lightly sweet apple and makes the whole thing a touch creamier.
Fennel Walnut Soup with Leeks & Turmeric
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 leeks, white and light green parts chopped (discard green tops or use them for stock)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 1 medium fennel bulb, cored and chopped
- 1 medium apple, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ cup walnut halves, toasted
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups vegetable stock
To Serve
- maple syrup
- freshly ground black pepper
- chopped fennel fronds
- more toasted walnuts chopped
Instructions
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Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium. Add the chopped leeks and thyme. Stir and sauté the leeks until they are a bit soft, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped fennel and apples. Stir everything up a bit. Add the turmeric and stir to coat all of the vegetables evenly. Sauté the vegetables until the fennel is starting to soften, another 4 minutes. Add the walnuts and stir them in. Season the whole thing with salt and pepper. Add the vegetable stock and stir.
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Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until all of the vegetables/apples are very soft, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat. Carefully blend the mixture in batches in an upright blender until totally smooth. Check the soup for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
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Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. Bring the puréed fennel walnut soup to a boil and then serve hot with little drizzles of maple syrup, fresh black pepper, fennel fronds, and more toasted walnuts if you like.
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Notes
- This is a pretty simple soup! Of course, I always think homemade vegetable stock is ideal, but especially with a soup with limited ingredients like this one.