Fennel Soup with Herb Oil

Springy!

But first things first: My eyebrows are a mess.

I don't mean in the way they're usually a mess, in that I ignore them for a year at a time because the rims of my spectacles obscure them in such a way I forget they exist completely.

Thursday was that one day per annum when they really started to bug me. I decided to stop in and get them waxed on my way home from work, as I wasn't in any sort of hurry. When I went to pay with my debit card, the receptionist informed me that they could no longer add tips on when paying with plastic. In my head I was like IS IT NOT 2013?!?, particularly since I've been going to this particular salon for years with no such policy in place. But instead I sheepishly put forth the two lonely dollars I had in my wallet as a meager tip, promising to tip better next time. 

I proceeded to feel bad about the crap tip for the next few hours, until Logan picked me up to go see some comedy and I forgot all about it. Apparently (dunh-dunh-DUUUUNH) my face did not forget.

As what I can only assume is payback for my perceived stinginess, I now have an ever-increasing line of red bumps everywhere the wax touched my brow line. I'm afraid to even touch it. 

Luckily, my plans for today including hanging out with friends who would never judge me (at least not to my face) for being afraid to put on make-up. Kelly and I went up to Vincent's house for a full afternoon of eating, laughing, and talking about wigs and comedy (same thing, buuuhzigully). Vincent made a full, lovely meal, starting with an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms that he first braised in Warsteiner Dark (brilliant!) and ending with a fluffy pumpkin cake. I, duh, brought a soup.

After two days in a row of cream-based soups, I really wanted something lighter and fresher. When I came upon this fennel soup recipe this morning, and realized it was in a cookbook I'd yet to try anything from (always exciting), I thought it would do just fine. When I got to Findlay Market and saw how cheap fennel was this week ($2 a bulb!), I thought it would do even finer (total cheapskate).

I realized it was probably a bit risky to foist a fennel soup on my friends with no warning--not everyone enjoys it's slightly anisey flavor. But if I can trust them to see me broken out and make-up free, I figured I could trust them to try something different.

For Vincent, turned out this was something very different, as he'd never before had fennel. He seemed to tolerate it alright. Kelly seemed okay with it too. So was I. I've had better fennel soups--in fact, Justine made a better one for this blog! (seriously, check it out; it was divine.)

The herb oil was definitely necessary, and made everything very bright and fragrant. The soup also tasted better when I reheated a bit for a late night snack--the flavors benefited from some time to hang out and integrate, as is predictably the case with a water-based soup. 

I probably won't make it again, but I am looking forward to trying out more recipes from David Tanis's Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys. I've had the book for quite some time but hadn't really explored it--it's separated into seasons and beautifully tempting menus. It's also a good cookbook for reading, as it's peppered with charmingly-written backgrounds and stories. 

I almost wanted the soup to taste more strongly of fennel, but that could be the fault of the vegetables I selected themselves. I think a bit of white whine to braise the veg could have also been helpful here. 

This recipe makes a lot of soup, so if you decide you would indeed want to make it (and really, I'd recommend making Justine's soup instead), I'd either half it or make sure you've got a lot of people around who like fennel. 

Side note: flat-leaf parsley was nowhere to be found at the market today, so I got some curly leaf for the first time in who knows how long. I kinda liked it, in a weird, Denny's sorta way. My herbs= slummin.

Fennel Soup with Herb Oil

Serves...8?

GET THIS STUFF

olive oil

2 large fennel bulbs, bulbs sliced and fronds reserved

2 small white onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

6 c water

1/4 c jasmine rice

For herb oil, place the below ingredients plus salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth:

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

1 c fennel fronds

1/2 c basil leaves

1/2 c parsley leaves

1/4 c sliced scallions

DO THIS WITH IT

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium.

Add sliced fennel, onions and garlic and season with salt & pepper. 

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and starting to turn a little golden.

Add water and rice, and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender and pass through a fine mesh strainer.

Taste for seasoning (I added more salt here).

Served garnished with a heaped teaspoon of herb oil.