Last month, one of my family members requested something cheap with vegetables, that we can make on the stove. What better way to utilize one of the cheapest vegetables around (Carrots) with a warming winter soup! Carrot soup is a tale as old as time, and is easy and familiar to work with. I even used baby carrots in my example to take the peeling out of the equation entirely. The fennel serves to add some fresh new flavors to the hearty staple of the carrot.
What’s great about this recipe is that there’s essentially only three steps: Prep, Sauté/Cook, Blend. You can even saute the fennel in with the carrots if you’re looking to skip a step or avoid washing another dish!
One of the keys to a good soup is to build flavor as you go. It is super important to season every step of the way. But be careful, not enough seasoning and your soup will turn out bland and too much seasoning slams salt in your face. Remember, you can always add more but you cannot take away!
This recipe is:
- Dairy Free
- Gluten Free
- It can be Vegan if using Vegetable stock/Bouillon
- Keto Friendly
Take a look at the photo library below. This accompanies the recipe and is a great visual guide of what we’re looking to achieve. Some of the knife cuts can be difficult for beginners. That’s okay! If your cuts are a little thick, your dice is a little large, or your mince isn’t perfect the recipe will still turn out delicious! It’s all getting blended anyways!
Check out my Tiktok to see the real time video!
Creamy Carrot Fennel Soup
Equipment
- 1 Pot
- 1 Cast Iron Or Large Saute Plan
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Medium Bowl
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Carrots Peeled and Cut (I used baby carrots)
- 1 head Fennel
- 1 large Onion
- 5 cloves Garlic Whole
- 1 small nub Ginger (Minced)
- 1 Quart Stock (Chicken or Vegetable) You may not use all of it
- 1 tsp Ground Turmeric (Dry) (Optional)
- 1 tsp Bullion (Chicken or Vegetable)
- Vegetable Oil
- Pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
- 1 Can Coconut Milk (Mine was 13.5 oz) You may not use all of it
- 1 Cup Water You may not use all of it
Instructions
Prep Vegetables
- Peel Core and Large Dice Onion
- Core and Cube Fennel
- Cut and Peel Carrots (if not using baby carrots)
- In a bowl, toss Carrots in oil salt and pepper
Cook Carrots
- Put pot on Medium heat and add Oil to the bottom of the pan (enough to cover)
- Once oil is hot add Onion and Garlic
- Season lightly with salt, pepper, and bouillon
- Sweat onions until slightly translucent
- Add Carrots
- Let vegetables brown slightly
- Deglaze the bottom of the pan with stock
- Cover the vegetables with stock (I used about two cups) then turn down heat to Medium-Low.
- Simmer until stock is reduced by at least half and you can cut the carrots in half with your rubber spatula.
Saute Fennel
- As the carrots are cooking halve and core fennel
- Large dice fennel
- Heat Cast Iron (Saute Pan) on Medium- High Heat
- Add Oil
- When Oil is hot, add all fennel to the pan
- Lightly season with salt and pepper
- Sauté until fennel becomes soft and has a golden brown crust on the outside
- If the carrots are not finished, turn off heat and set aside until they are ready
Blend
- If your blender is small you may want to split this into two even batches then recombine them in the pot for final tasting/seasoning. If it all will fit in the blender safely then you can follow all the instructions as written
- Add Carrots and Fennel to the Blender along with one cup (8oz) of coconut milk and (4oz) water
- Blend until smooth. If too thick, add either coconut milk, stock, or water to thin out the soup. Mine was seasoned well and did not need anymore concentrated stock. I used both coconut milk and water to thin my soup.
- Taste and season accordingly
Serve hot
- I used the Fennel Fronds, a drizzle of Olive Oil, and some coconut milk to garnish my soup
Sheila says
Looks so good!