Carrot soup with thyme and fennel seed

 

I have limited space for growing vegetables, so I usually use it for items I can't get at the farmers market, like heirloom varieties, or things of which want a constant fresh supply, like herbs, tomatoes and lettuce. 

This year I devoted a little precious space to growing Parisian carrots. They're little orange globes, perfect for my comparatively shallow raised beds, and something you don't usually see in most stores or markets. 

All fine and good, except the part where, ahem, I did a fairly random job of thinning the seedlings. So some of them turned out to be the correct size (about the size of a large radish), but some of the ones I harvested at frost were teensy orange orbs packed in too tightly on top of each other to get much size. Those went into the stock pot, but their larger counterparts went into this soup, still my favorite among carrot soup recipes.

Now I just have to cook my way through the mound of carrot tops.

Carrot soup with thyme and fennel

From Bon Appetit, March 1999

 

Ingredients

¼  cup butter

4 medium carrots, chopped small

¾ cup chopped onion

¾ cup chopped leeks, white and green parts only (about 2 small)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

¼ teaspoon fennel seeds

5 cups broth

Salt

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

Method

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Add carrots, onions, leeks, garlic, thyme and fennel, stirring to coat. Cover and cook until onion is translucent, stirring as needed.

Add broth and partially cover. Simmer until carrots are very tender, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly and then puree in batches. (For this soup you’ll be happier with the texture if you actually haul out the food processor instead of the stick blender, unless you’ve got a professional model.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Rating: Just lovely. Nicely balanced, with very subtle fennel flavor. It's mellow, smooth and tastes, well, warm, if warm was a flavor. The perfect fall soup.