Mushroom & Fennel Soup

Well, so much for my plan to stick to eating seasonal, local food, eh? I've been buying a lot of mushrooms recently, so I thought I'd try this soup out. This is another recipe from Leith's Veg Bible. Fennel's not actually in season until the height of summer, hence they're nearly a quid each in Sainsbury's, and look suitably jet-lagged. Nonetheless, it tastes OK (but I'd still rather have it in a soup than a salad at this time of year). This soup's delicious, quick, & easy.

Ingredients: flat mushrooms (225 g/8 oz), fennel (1 bulb), fennel seeds (1 teaspoon, crushed), butter (55 g/2 0z), garlic (1 clove, crushed) white bread (2 slices), mushroom stock (1 litre), fresh parsley (1 tablespoon, chopped), salt & freshly-ground pepper, creme fraiche (150 ml / 1/4 pint).

I used 2 garlic cloves, substituted veg bouillon stock for the mushroom stock, wholemeal bread for white (yuck!), & used freshly-grated Parmesan instead of parsley. Of course, you can use double cream instead of creme fraiche.

Method: Chop the mushrooms. Remove the outer leaves from the fennel. Trim the fennel root, & chop. Reserve the feathery tops (if you're in the UK and cooking this time of year, they might not even have them!).
Melt the butter. When foaming, add the fennel & fennel seeds. Fry for a few mins, 'til softened.
Add the mushrooms, & fry until soft & mushy.
Add the garlic, & cook for another minute, then add the bread and mix it all around, so the bread's absorbing the mushroom juices.
Pour in the stock, season with salt & pepper, & simmer for 20 mins.

Puree the soup in a blender (or food processor). Health & Safety supervisors, look away now! Because I've broken the interlock on my food processor, I've had to tie the broken bit of the lid to the motor housing with a bit of twine. It's functional, but it ain't pretty. So I used a blender...

Finally, pour the pureed soup back into your rinsed-out pan, add the parsley & creme fraiche, & reheat without boiling. Check seasoning, serve in warm bowls, and sprinkle with the reserved fennel tops.

I half-suspected that this'd be best as a summer soup, but it's suitably hearty for midwinter. I'm off now to finish off the leftovers.