Description
This Fennel Leek Soup with Walnuts & Turmeric is a creamy, earthy, and flavorful vegan soup featuring sautéed leeks, fennel, apples, and turmeric, blended smooth with toasted walnuts and vegetable stock. It’s a comforting and nourishing dish perfect for any season.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 leeks, white and light green parts chopped (discard green tops or use them for stock)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 1 medium fennel bulb, cored and chopped
- 1 medium apple, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ cup walnut halves, toasted
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups vegetable stock
Instructions
- Heat and sauté leeks: Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the chopped leeks and thyme. Stir and sauté the leeks until they are a bit soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add fennel and apples: Add the chopped fennel and apples to the pot. Stir everything together.
- Add turmeric and sauté: Sprinkle in the turmeric and stir to coat all of the vegetables evenly. Continue sautéing until the fennel begins to soften, about 4 minutes more.
- Add walnuts and season: Stir in the toasted walnut halves, then season the soup with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- Add vegetable stock and simmer: Pour in the vegetable stock and stir to combine. Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all the vegetables and apples are very soft, about 15 minutes.
- Blend the soup: Remove the pot from heat. Carefully blend the soup in batches using an upright blender until completely smooth.
- Adjust seasoning: Taste the soup and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Reheat and serve: Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. Bring to a boil again and then serve hot, drizzled with maple syrup, fresh black pepper, fennel fronds, and additional toasted walnuts if desired.
Notes
- Homemade vegetable stock is ideal for the best flavor, but store-bought stock works well, too.
- Celery is a good substitute for fennel if unavailable.
- Pecans can be used instead of walnuts to add a slightly different but complementary flavor.
- For a smoother texture, strain the soup after blending if desired.
- This soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
