Chilled Fennel Soup With Orange Zest

Photo: Barcelona Bites

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (60 g) of butter

1 teaspoon (5 g) minced garlic

2 medium onions, minced

2 pounds (900 g) fresh fennel bulbs (stems and leaves should be trimmed off and the rest can be chopped)

5 cups (1250 ml) chicken or veg broth

1 tablespoon of minced orange zest

1/2 cup (120 ml) greek or plain flavored yogurt

salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation

Saute the butter, onions and garlic in a large pot over low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the fennel and cook for a half hour, stirring occasionally.

Add the orange zest and the stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook covered, for another half hour, or until all veggies are soft.

Puree with a blender and refridgerate.

Stir in yogurt once the soup is chilled.

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About

For some reason, fennel is one of those mysterious vegetables that I've always been intimidated by. Judging from its seeds, I knew that it tasted a bit like anise and since I loath black licorice, the idea of a green oniony looking vegetable that might taste like licorice, has never been exactly tempting. But then my friend grilled some recently for the top of a pizza and I discovered that it's actually the tastiest green oniony vegetable ever!

This is another recipe from The Catalan Country Kitchen (out-of-print but great book!)
www.barcelonabites.com