Okay, I decided to make this Creamy Zucchini and Fennel Soup when I was puttering around in my garden and found one gigantic zucchini (documented below). It was hidden in the back of one of my vegetable beds. It’s funny how you can check on your garden daily and not see anything growing then BOOM, there is a monster vegetable hiding in plain sight.
I wasn’t sure how the flavor would be because of its prodigious size – sautéed or used raw in a salad may not work but in a soup it definitely would. Next, I remembered that I had half of a large fennel bulb from something I had made earlier in the week and thought the two would make a lovely couple.
So, I sautéed some onion, garlic and fennel seeds to enhance the flavor of the fennel then added the zucchini and vegetable broth. For the finale, I added a couple spoonfuls of Ouzo to really bolster the licorice flavor. This soup is very nice in the hot summer. I like it at room temperature, it’s very subtle and cooling.
Try this along with the Zesty Farro Salad Bowl with Crispy Shallots. A perfect combo!
PrintCreamy Zucchini and Fennel Soup
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A subtle light soup for summer.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 extra large or 4–5 medium zucchini chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 small fennel bulb, white part, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup half and half (optional)
- 2 tablespoons Ouzo or Pastis (optional)
- 2 tablespoons of basil chiffonade
Croutons
- 3–4 slices of day old bread, roughly torn into bite-size pieces
- 1–1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Heat up a large soup pot with butter and oil.
- Add onionsand sauté for 5 minutes until onions become transcluscent. Add garlic and fennel seeds. Stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add fennel and zucchini, stir then add broth and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil then turn heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Blend soup in small batches, blending each batch for at least a minute. Return to another saucepan, add half and half and Ouzo if using. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Croutons
- While the soup is cooking, preheat oven to 350º.
- Place pieces of bread onto a baking sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes, flipping pieces halfway through until dried and slightly golden. Remove from oven.
- Heat a wide skillet on medium heat add butter. When butter is melted, add bread pieces salt and pepper and cook until browned on both sides, shaking the pan throughout to keep from burning.
Serving
- Place soup in bowl, garnish with basil and a few croutons.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
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