Cooking with Nicko

Hearty Home Made Fennel and Leek Soup

hearty home made fennel soup

Ingredients

  • 1 fennel, roughly diced
  • 1 leek, chopped. See my tips for cutting leek below this recipe
  • 500ml of chicken stock
  • 2 red chilis (optional)
  • 2 medium sized potatos, cubed. Up to you if you want them with or without the skin
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped/minced
  • A handful of fennel seeds
  • 4 tablespoons of cajun seasoning

Method

  1. Pre-heat a large pot on medium-high heat
  2. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the pot
  3. Add the fennel and cook for 3-4 minutes or until it slightly reduces in size
  4. Add in the leek and chili (if you're using them)
  5. Add in your garlic (we add it in later so the garlic doesn't burn)
  6. Add in your potatos. At this point, you should be seeing a bunch of steam coming out of your pot. That's from the leek and fennel, they have a lot of water inside
  7. Add your cajun seasoning and fennel seeds
  8. Add in your chicken stock, bring to a boil and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatos are soft
  9. Taste the soup to see how you like the salt and pepper levels and adjust accordingly. If you used home made chicken stock, you'll need to season the sh*t out of it with salt. I'm talking like 18 turns of the salt shaker
  10. If you want a smooth consistency, use a hand blender to blend the soup. Or, if you wanna go rustic style, server as is with some nice toasted bread

Tips and Tricks for this Home Made Fennel and Leek Soup Recipe

Fresh leek is one of those vegetables that is packed full of dirt, so, it's important to rinse it thoroughly so you don't end up with a crunchy soup.

Slicing the leek lengthway will help you rinse out the dirt. You should angle the butt of the leek towards the roof so that all the dirt falls towards the sink as you rinse it. Slice the leek lengthways again so you have it in quarters and then chop.

This soup actually tastes quite nice with a bunch of spice in it. If you like spice, add more chilis or chili flakes.

When I was learning to cook, I hated coming to the end of the recipe to find out that I needed a blender. So if you don't have one, don't worry, it still tastes just as good if you don't blend it. I will alternate between blending and not blending it, depending on how I feel.

This is a great, warming and hearty soup to cook for your family during winter!

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