Orange root vegetables, again - this time, success!

Last weekend, I made an announcement: for the upcoming week, there would be no eating out. (Obviously this was accompanied by dramatic hand gestures) My fridge is absurdly full, I'm teetering on wasting things as they spoil, forgotten, in my produce bin, and I'll be traveling for the holidays and need to clear the fridge.  EPB was game for this, and so it was to be. In truth this didn't work out all that well - I think we still ate out at least once, and I definitely had a couple pasta dinners - one of which only added to the fridge, the exact opposite of the goal.

But then! Wednesday night, I was packaging the produce from that morning's Full Circle delivery. Included was a bulb of fennel, yet another familiar-yet-intimidating ingredient for me. I've had fennel in things - salads, I guess - and enjoyed it, but never have I worked with it. I puzzled over it for a moment, and then instead of heading to the internet like I usually do I headed for the cookbook shelf. Years ago I acquired a copy of Cooking for Mr. Latte. I picked it up because it looked like an interesting memoir - some storytelling involving food, what's not to love? In the past year, though, I've found myself turning to it again and again for recipes. And that night, I had a feeling someone like Amanda Hesser would have some sort of interesting idea for a bulb of fennel.

Something else to know before I go on - separately, I had been contemplating making some sort of carrot puree soup, assuming I could unearth a recipe. Compliments again of Full Circle, I had accumulated 1.5 pounds of carrots, which seemed like a lot of dinner side dishes.

So: back to Wednesday night. I open the book, flip to the index, skim down to F...fennel...and lo! Not on are there fennel recipes, but the first one I see is: Carrot and Fennel Soup. Obviously, that was meant to be. It turned out to be exactly what I was looking for - creamy and flavorful, but somehow light. Easy, but just a little different. And the best part: fennel bulb aside, most of the ingredients are the sort of thing you'd typically have laying around.

Amanda recommends a tasty-sounding meatloaf with this. That would probably be great. Since we're in Seattle and it's finally Dungeness season, meaning they're fresh-caught, just off the boat that morning, and $3.99 a pound, we opted for those instead.

[Caveat from your blogger: the published online versions of this soup are a few years earlier than the book, and the recipes are different. I'm going on the assumption that the book version was refined and further perfected, so will adapt that for this blog, since that's the version I used. You all should really buy the book.]

Carrot-and-Fennel Soup

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium fennel bulb, stalks cut flush with the bulb, and coarsely chopped; fronds reserved
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and thickly sliced (approximately 4 cups)
1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

1. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add the chopped fennel and cook, stirring, until softened and turning golden. Add the carrots and garlic and cook another minute. Pour in just enough water to cover the vegetables (about 3 cups, depends a bit on your saucepan) and season with salt. Simmer, covered, until the carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes [note from your blogger: it was more like 30 for me]. Add more water if the pot gets dry.

2. Ladle the soup into a food processor, and puree the mixture with the orange juice, sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Puree to the consistency you want - chunky, smooth - your call. You may want to do this in batches, but do make sure the feed tube is covered or hot soup will leap out like a geyser. Pour the soup back in the pan, bringing the temperature back up while stirring until just heated through; do not boil.  Taste it again. Pull the fennel fronds into pieces and drop them into the soup. Give it one last stir.

[Note from your blogger, or Alternate Ending #2: do you have a stick blender? Great. No? Get one or borrow one. Trust me. Next, skip number two and do this: remove the pot from the heat, and fully insert your stick blender (careful not to let it suction to the bottom of the pot). Pulse for a few minutes, to the consistency you want. Remove blender. NOW add the extra salt, pepper, and fennel fronds (although I only added a few for fear of overpowering it), give it a stir, and you're done (add a few more fronds on top if you want, they look pretty and add to the "impressive" factor). The soup didn't get a chance to cool off since you never took it out of the pot, and it's ready to eat.]

Makes roughly 4-6 servings, depending on how much soup you like as part of your meal.

I've been giving some vague thought to a merest pinch of cayenne next time I make this...what do you think?