My Valentine’s feast needed a romantic, elegant soup to start the meal. With sweet orange carrots and fresh tasty fennel from my Talley Farms Fresh Harvest CSA box, I was stocked with the essentials for this smooth and subtle, purely delectable Carrot & Fennel Soup!
The key to this soup is to slowly cook the vegetables to allow them to reach a deep rich flavor. You want to cook them until they release their moisture, but do not brown, and to achieve this you cook them covered over low heat. Your choice in quality of vegetables can make a huge difference in the result of your dish. If you can source your vegetables at a local farm or Farmer’s Market, you will get a much better result in all of your recipes. If you do purchase carrots in a grocery store, try to find bunch carrots instead of the large individual or bagged varieties. You will gain a much more delicate, sweet flavor from them.
What sets a great soup apart from an average one for me, is the garnish that you adorn it with. There are so many ways to garnish soup from a dollop of creme fraiche, fresh herbs, croutons, crispy shallots or pancetta, to any combination of ingredients. What makes this soup special is it’s topping of maple scented creme fraiche and chopped toasted chestnuts. However, don’t feel limited to those choices as you can use any variety of toppings to elevate your soup.
Honestly, the exquisite color of this soup is enough to make you want to dip into it’s lusciousness!
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 6 small carrots, peeled, chopped
- 1 small Yukon Gold potato, peeled, halved
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped roasted chestnuts from a jar
- ¼ cup crème fraîche
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Directions
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Heat 4 Tbsp. butter in a large heavy pot over medium. Add fennel, onion, carrots, potato, thyme, and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing heat if needed, until vegetables are soft but not browned and have released their moisture, 45–60 minutes (this will give them deep flavor).
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Add broth, bring to a boil, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until potato is falling apart, 8–10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Remove herbs.
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Working in batches, purée in a blender until smooth. Strain into a clean pot; season with salt and pepper.
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Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium. Add chestnuts and cook, stirring often, until butter is browned and chestnuts are toasted, about 4 minutes.
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Mix crème fraîche and maple syrup in a small bowl. Serve soup topped with maple crème fraîche and chestnuts.
Note
- Soup can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.
(Printable recipe can be found in my recipe index under Soups)