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Spinach and Fennel Soup
Serves 4 Prep 15 min Cook 50 min Total 1 hr 5 min Type Meal Origin British

Spinach and Fennel Soup

A British country soup: spinach and fennel cooked just enough to stay bright green, blended smooth with stock. Eaten with crusty bread and butter.

Serves 4 Prep 15 minutes Cook 50 minutes Units Rate

Overview

A British bistro soup that pairs the gentle anise of fennel with vibrant green spinach, the result somewhere between a French velouté and an Italian zuppa. You sweat fennel and onion slowly in butter until they're soft and faintly translucent, then add stock and let them cook through. Spinach goes in at the end (just a minute, no longer, so it stays bright green rather than collapsing to khaki) and the whole soup blends to a smooth pale-green purée. A swirl of cream enriches the texture; a few fennel fronds and toasted seeds on top for the look of it. Eaten as a starter with a small chunk of crusty bread, or as a light lunch with a tomato salad on the side.

Ingredients

Base

  • 60 grams unsalted butter

Aromatics

  • 2 onions (small, very finely chopped)
  • 2 fennel bulbs (small, very finely chopped)

Vegetables

  • 1 potato (small, peeled and chopped)
  • 700 grams spinach (stalks removed, leaves washed)

Liquid/Broth

  • 1 ¾ litres water

Garnishes

  • 4 tablespoons double cream
  • salt
  • pepper

Method

Stage 1 - Prepare ingredients

  1. Very finely chop the onions.
  2. Very finely chop the fennel bulbs.
  3. Peel and chop the potato.
  4. Wash the potato in water until all the starch has been removed.
  5. Remove any excess stalk from the spinach, leaving only the leaves.
  6. Plunge the spinach in cold water until perfectly clean.

Stage 2 - Cook soup

  1. Melt the butter in a large casserole pot.
  2. Over a low heat, fry the onion and fennel together very gently for about ½ hour.
  3. Add the potato to the pot, along with the water.
  4. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the potato has been thoroughly cooked.
  5. Stir the spinach into the soup and remove from the heat.

Stage 3 - Puree and finish

  1. Liquidize the soup in small batches until very smooth.
  2. For a perfectly fine soup, push the soup through a fine meshed sieve or chinois.
  3. Add a little cream to the soup, reheat gently and serve.

Notes

  • Fennel: Finely chop to release flavor without bitterness.
  • Spinach: Add at end to preserve color and nutrients.
  • Pureeing: Strain for ultra-smooth texture.
  • Cream: Stir in just before serving to maintain vibrancy.

Serving

Serve hot with fresh bread and butter. Garnish with extra cream if desired.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 2 days; reheat gently without boiling.
  • Freezes well for up to 1 month (without cream; add fresh).
  • Best eaten fresh for color.

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