This is a super hearty soup to help you survive the dumb winter weather. I’d never cooked with fennel before, and was worried by the anise-y smell while chopping it, but it didn’t end up making the finished soup taste like black licorish at all, so we’re good! This makes a kind of huge amount of soup, so if you have a small family you could easily get by with just halving the recipe. As is, I borrowed a larger pot from work just to be on the safe side.
tons of leftovers after two hearty servings
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 large fennel bulbs, roughly chopped
- olive oil
- sprinkling of salt
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaved ripped into small pieces
- 1 14 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 box any small shaped pasta
I’m very over buying a package of fresh herbs, using 1/4 of it, and having the rest slowly die in my fridge, so dried it is!
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Combine the carrots, fennel, a bit of olive oil, and some salt, stirring until the veggies are evenly coated, then spread over 2 sheet pans. You don’t need to worry about chopping these veggies too finely, as they’re going to get blended up later.
Roast for 15 minutes, stir, and roast another 10 minutes.
Towards the end of the roasting time, bring the broth to a simmer in a large pot on the stove. Transfer the roasted vegetables to the broth and simmer 15 minutes. At the end of the 15 minutes, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
Meanwhile, combine the ground turkey, onion, and celery with a bit of olive oil in a even large pot, if available. Heat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes, then add the pot of blended vegetables and broth.
Add the paprika, rosemary, oregano, cumin, torn kale, and beans, and stir together, bringing back to a simmer.
Cook the pasta slightly underdone, either in a new pot or in the one you just poured the veggie/broth mixture out of, then reserve 2 cups of the pasta water before straining. Add the pasta and the water to the soup mixture and stir to combine. Return to a simmer, then serve.
This soup is quite thick – I definitely wouldn’t leave out the pasta water or you’ll need a fork and knife for the leftovers! It would go well with a nice crusty bread, and maybe some grated parmesan on top!
While I ate, the pasta/beans absorbed most of the visible liquid in the leftovers, but if you heat it back up it’s still soup!
Fennel and Carrot Soup
Slightly adapted from The Food in My Beard.
- 2 pounds carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 large fennel bulbs, roughly chopped
- olive oil
- sprinkling of salt
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaved ripped into small pieces
- 1 14 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 box any small shaped pasta
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Combine the carrots, fennel, a bit of olive oil, and some salt, stirring until the veggies are evenly coated, then spread over 2 sheet pans. Roast for 15 minutes, stir, and roast another 10 minutes.
Towards the end of the roasting time, bring the broth to a simmer in a large pot on the stove. Transfer the roasted vegetables to the broth and simmer 15 minutes. At the end of the 15 minutes, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
Meanwhile, combine the ground turkey, onion, and celery with a bit of olive oil in a even large pot, if available. Heat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, and cook for 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes, then add the pot of blended vegetables and broth. Add the paprika, rosemary, oregano, cumin, torn kale, and beans, and stir together, bringing back to a simmer.
Cook the pasta slightly underdone, either in a new pot or in the one you just poured the veggie/broth mixture out of, then reserve 2 cups of the pasta water before straining. Add the pasta and the water to the soup mixture and stir to combine. Return to a simmer, then serve.
