Potato-Fennel Soup

  3.4 – 8 reviews  • Potato
Level: Easy
Total: 40 min
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Level: Easy
Total: 40 min
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  1. 3 large leeks
  2. 1 large bulb fennel, diced (stems and fronds reserved)
  3. 1 large bulb fennel, diced (stems and fronds reserved)
  4. 3 large carrots, diced
  5. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  6. Cooking spray
  7. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  8. 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  9. 1 1/2 cups skim milk
  10. 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and/or dill
  11. 1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
  12. 4 slices crusty Italian bread, toasted

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Make the broth: Cut off the dark green tops of the leeks and put in a large pot along with the fennel stems and fronds; add 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer 20 minutes. 
  2. Meanwhile, halve the remaining leeks lengthwise, then thinly slice and rinse. Put the carrots and half each of the sliced leeks and diced fennel on a foil-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, coat with cooking spray and toss. Roast until golden, about 25 minutes. 
  3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add the remaining leeks and fennel and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and 2 cups of the prepared broth. Cover and cook until tender, 15 minutes. Add 4 more cups broth and the milk; bring to a boil. Working in batches, transfer to a blender and puree; season with salt and pepper. 
  4. Ladle the soup into bowls; top with the roasted vegetables and chopped herbs. Spread the ricotta on the toasted bread and season with pepper; serve with the soup. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories 476 calorie
Total Fat 9 grams
Saturated Fat 5 grams
Cholesterol 26 milligrams
Sodium 306 milligrams
Carbohydrates 82 grams
Dietary Fiber 9 grams
Protein 17 grams
Calories 476 calorie
Total Fat 9 grams
Saturated Fat 5 grams
Cholesterol 26 milligrams
Sodium 306 milligrams
Carbohydrates 82 grams
Dietary Fiber 9 grams
Protein 17 grams

Reviews

Rachel Martin
The taste was good, but wasn’t very popular with my family. It also took a lot longer to prepare then the estimated time.
Roger Murphy
I added bacon.  I used prepared vegetable stock and used 2% milk.  I only pureed half the soup and added some roasted veggies to the puree.   Pretty yummy.

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Taylor Caldwell
Preparation takes WAY longer than 35 minutes!  Save this for a Saturday.  It’s too much for a weeknight.  You’re preparing the vegetables for a very long time.  Feel free to add quarts of prepared broth to increase the liquid and the salt.  I used an immersion blender.  It took a while but it’s easier and less messy than doing batches in a blender.  The fennel and dill flavors are nice.  The roasted vegetables are a tasty addition, especially the leeks.  Soup needs a lot of salt.  Potato flavor and texture are nice.  I served with cornbread and the ricotta. 
Lisa Savage
My husband and I liked this soup, but I agree with beeners71; the prep time took much longer. I did not have leeks, so I substituted Vidalia and shallot. Needed quite a bit of salt and pepper to add flavor at the end, but it was quite delicious. Worth the time and effort.
Joann Kelly
I vegan-ized the recipe by omitting the butter and substituting unsweetened almond milk for the skim milk. I decreased the prep time by just using prepared vegetable broth instead of cooking the leek tops and fennel stems. I also added a couple of cloves of minced garlic and half of a small diced onion to the leeks and fennel in the soup and roasted an extra potato with the other roasted veggies. Definitely needs salt and pepper at the end, but it was delicious. The family loved it.
Jeffrey Smith
The soup was tasty with the roasted vegs.. agree with previous reviewer about pureeing with soup , but would make 3 times as much roasted vegs putting in half of in soup to puree and other half to put on as topping .. my adult son and my husband both liked but added salt and pepper to it. Four portions would have to be large unless this is all you are eating …if using as a first course , the need for extra roasted vegs is so each smaller bowl could have some on top . Would like to know what kind of cheese beeners71 used as to not overpower the delicate flavor . Also I didn’t have skim milk so used 2 percent … this gave it a nice body and didn’t feel it was too thin.
Jesus Leblanc
This recipe took a LOT longer to prep. When the soup was done, it was quite bland. I then pureed the roast veggies into the soup, which increased the flavor profile ten-fold. If that were part of the original recipe, I would have given it a 4 or maybe even 5 star rating.
Dennis Valentine
I agree with the previous reviewer. The soup itself was bland and much too watery. I too added cheese and other spices to compensate for the lack of flavor. It also took a lot longer. My husband liked it but not worth the effort to improve the flavor.
Alexander Williams
As written, the soup was a bit on the bland side. I made a few additions and substitutions. Also, it takes longer to make than 40 minutes, unless you have a speedy method for prepping veggies. It took me just about an hour.

I bought the ricotta before actually reading the assembly process (I know, silly me), and when I realized the soup called for skim milk and not the cheese, I made a swap. I put three table spoon’s (not Tbsp) worth of the ricotta in the soup and stirred it in just before blending.

It was underseasoned, so I added some garlic powder, ground coriander, dried thyme, herbes de Provence, and dry mustard. The flavor was much improved.

I will definitely make this again – it’s warm and comforting for a fall night.

 

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