Carrot and Fennel Soup

Clearly (just like this soup) I have been neglecting my blog!
I know and I do feel horrible. Even more that I the only excuses I have for this (non)deed are really lame...

I haven't been sick, gone or paralysed. Just caged at work, well..... working my @ss off to be honest. don't get me wrong, I loved it and I still do (I do believe I have the world best job and the world best boss - now top that ;-) .... I just never really had time to cook something nice or worth blogging about.

But enough of winning, I am back and (hopefully) will be around more often. Here is a really nice clear soup made with fennel. I don't thing I ever cooked with fennel before apart from tossing it with root veggies when roasting them in the oven with herbs; or simply tossing it for I couldn't figure out what else to do with it before it went mouldy :-(

Nevertheless, giving up on an ingredient is not my style. Curious moi ran into a really nice simple healthy recipe (oh, dont we all love em) that immediately caught my attention.

High in calcium, magnessium and vitamin C, fennel is the right "meat" for vegans :-) So scoop up as much as you can handle, this soup wont make you worry about your perfect waistline :-)

FENNEL SOUP:

• 500g fennel bulb
• 3 carrots
• 1 (sweet) potato
• 1 onion
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 cm ginger root
• 5 cm lemongrass
• 700 ml veggie broth
• 1 dl yoghurt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3 tbsp sambal oelek
• salt, pepper
• oil

Halve the fennel bulb and throw away the bad outer leaves. Chop off the top part with the green leaves and set aside. Slice each half into thin stripes.

Cut the carrots and potatoes into small matchsticks or grate lengthways (like on above picture). Chop the onion. Grate the ginger root into a paste.

Heat up the oil in a casserole and roast the coriander powder, ginger and lemongrass. Add the onions and cook until brown. Add the vegetables and continue frying for about 10 minutes stirring constantly.

Add the broth and mix well. Bring to boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Let cook until the veggies are soft.

In the meantime, whisk the yoghurt with chopped fennel leaves that you have set aside, sambal oelek and turmeric.

Divide the soup into 4 bowls, garnish with fennel greens and top with the spicy yoghurt.

Bon apetit!