Vegetarian Times: Split Pean and Fennel Soup

 

Its the time of year where it is still cold enough where you want soup, but the spring vegetables make you yearn for fresh and fast. I love this time of year if for no other reason than asparagus is CHEAP, and I'm cheap, so its a good time of year for my torrid love affair with the vegetable that makes your pee go pe-ew.

I'm batting 1,000 with the magazines lately, first it was the soup in Bon Apetite, and now its this little number in the latest issue of Vegetarian times. And this recipe is great for when you have all those fennel stalks and fronds left over and you're like, "what the fuck do I do with all these fennel stalks? This ladies and gentleman is what the fuck you do with them.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped fennel (1 bulb or 5 fennel stalks, fronds removed)
• 1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)
• 1 cup dry white wine, divided
• 15 oz. dried green split peas (picked over, rinsed, and drained)
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 oz. baby spinach leaves

And away we go:

1. Heat saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add fennel and onion, and sauté 8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup wine, and simmer 2 minutes. Add split peas, 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds, thyme, bay leaf, and 7 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add remaining 1/2 cup wine, and cook, uncovered 10 minutes, or until split peas are tender. Stir in spinach, and cook 2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.
3. Remove bay leaf, and puree soup with immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Toast remaining 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds in small skillet 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Serve soup garnished with toasted fennel seeds.

Per 1 1/4-cup serving: 227 cal., 13 g protein, 2 g total fat (<1 g sat fat), 42 g carb, 0 mg chol, 481 mg sod, 21 g fiber, 3 g sugars.

Okay, this recipe - Chris totally loved it. I thought it needed more umph so I just made sure that I added sea salt, pepper and fresh herbs when I ate it.