Words and Images by Emma Galloway
Fennel really mellows when cooked, so I amp up the flavour again with toasted fennel seed flavoured lentils to top the soup with. If you can’t be bothered with the lentils (in their defence they add a nice boost of protein to the soup!), make a flavoured oil with the fennel seeds, chilli and lemon zest to spoon over the soup instead.
Serves 4
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium leek, washed well and finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 large fennel bulbs, sliced (reserve tops to serve)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups water or vegetable stock
3–4 tbsp sour cream or crème fraîche
Frizzled Lentils
¼ cup black or puy lentils, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp Aleppo pepper flakes or a pinch of regular chilli flakes
¼ tsp fennel seeds, lightly toasted and roughly ground
finely grated zest 1 lemon
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leek, garlic and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until tender. Add potato and water/stock, season lightly with salt and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid partially on for 20 minutes, or until everything is cooked through.
Meanwhile, place lentils into a small saucepan with the bay leaf and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook 15–20 minutes or until tender. Drain through a fine sieve and set aside 5 minutes still in the sieve to ensure as much excess liquid has drained as possible.
When soup is cooked, remove from the heat, add sour cream and blend with a stick blender until smooth. Alternatively, for a super smooth soup you can transfer to an upright blender and pulse until smooth. Set aside with the lid on to keep warm.
To make the frizzled lentils, heat olive oil in a small saucepan, add Aleppo pepper, fennel seeds and lemon zest and cook briefly until fragrant. Add drained lentils and cook, stirring often 5–8 minutes or until warmed through and some lentils are starting to crisp up a little. Season with salt and pepper and spoon over hot soup to serve, with a little reserved fennel tops and extra pepper flakes, if you like.
To speed things up, pre-cook the lentils up to 2 days before needed and store in a lidded container in the fridge. Any leftover soup can be stored separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat to serve.
