Fennel & White Bean Soup
“Fennel is a wonderful vegetable which has a flavour that mellows as it cooks. This recipe uses beans to make the soup creamy and to make a more filling dish.”
Prep time - 10 minutes
Cook time - 30 minutes
Difficulty - Easy
Serves / makes - 2 large or 4 small portions
Ingredients
2t rapeseed or sunflower oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, finely chopped (keep a few slices and fronds aside for decoration)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2t stock powder
1/2t sea or Himalayan salt
1 litre of water
300g peeled floury potatoes
2 stalks of rosemary, leaves removed from stalks, stalks discarded
1 tin or jar of cannellini or butter beans (for a smoother soup use jarred beans)
Equipment
Saucepan
Hand blender
Method
Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan, add the onion, celery and fennel, lower the heat and put a lid or plate on top. This will help to sweat the vegetables making them cook well without too much oil.
Once the onions are translucent, around 10 minutes, add the garlic, cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the stock, salt, water, potatoes, rosemary and beans. Turn the heat up, once it is boiling reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes until the potato is soft. Remove from the heat, blend with a hand / immersion blender or in a jug blender that is suitable for hot liquids. Blend the soup until it is completely smooth. The smooth texture will really make quite a difference.
