2 tablespoons rapeseed oil (you can use olive if you prefer)
2 large onions, finely sliced
2 bulbs of fennel, trimmed, halved and finely sliced
2 small leeks, finely sliced
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
small glass vermouth
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
the juice of 3 small oranges/clementines
1 litre vegetable stock (I used vegan swiss bouillon powder)
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 400g tin of white beans (I used white kidney beans)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a drizzle of olive oil and a few snipped chives to serve
This soup was devised to use up a lot of stuff in the fridge, and was so delicious I decided to share.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the onions, fennel and leeks until soft but not coloured.
Add the ground fennel seed and cook for a couple of minutes to release the flavour.
Add the vermouth (I used Noilly Prat) and cook off the alcohol.
Next add the potatoes, tarragon, orange/clementine juice and stock.
Cook until the potatoes are nearly cooked, then add the tomatoes and beans.
Taste and adjust seasoning – you might like to add more orange/clementine juice or tarragon too.
When the potatoes are cooked, take out 1/3 of the soup and liquidise until smooth, add back to the pan, taste again and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil on the top and a few freshly snipped chives.
I’ll add a picture in a bit…..