Carrot and Fennel Soup

Hello all! I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in over a week – I have been thoroughly  enjoying the Olympics! I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love watching them! I have been cooking as usual however, and here is a particularly yummy and hearty soup. It’s been a bit gray and rainy here, and this soup was just perfectly warm and comforting. I found the recipe on 101cookbooks.com – if you are a regular follower of my blog, you know that I love her recipes! It’s the same recipe, with some very minor changes. I hope that you try this out!

Carrot and Fennel Soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 1/4 lb. carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
10 cups quality vegetable broth
salt, to taste
3 cups cooked wild rice
5 tablespoons fresh orange juice, or 2 tablespoons blood orange olive oil (I just ordered some of this and can’t wait to try it out!!)
freshly grated parmesan cheese
fresh parsley, optional

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot (you will be using 10 cups of broth after all!) over medium-high heat. Add the fennel and cook for 3-4 minutes, until just softened. Stir in the carrots and cook for another 10 minutes so that they soften a bit and take on a hint of color. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds (really, just 30 seconds or it will start to burn). Stir in the broth. Bring to a simmer and simmer, covered, until the carrots are very tender, about 15-20 more minutes. Stir in the wild rice, bring back to a simmer, taste, and add more salt if needed.

Remove from heat and stir in the orange juice or blood orange olive oil. Taste and add more if needed. Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley.