Zucchini and Fennel Soup

Fennel is one of those vegetables that has always intimidated me a little bit.  Okay, a lot bit.  I didn't know where to start - the whispy fronds?  the celery-like stalk?  or the curious onion-shaped bulb?  However, when my sister-in-law, Christine, introduced me to this soup a few months ago, my fears were eased and questions answered.

So when I saw this beautiful, fresh fennel, zucchini, and rosemary ciabatta at the farmer's market this morning, I knew just what to do with it!

And Elli approved of my choice.

 

Before you get started....

Get all of your ingredients out and on the counter.  This not only saves time, but makes it far less likely you'll forget any ingredients.  Not that I've ever done that.


I used this recipe from Food and Wine magazine and thought it was quick and easy.
After googling the correct way to cut up a fennel bulb, I settled on chopping off the stalks and bottom and cutting them into fourths. After I snapped this picture, I decided to halve each fourth.



Yum. Yum. Yum.

 

And this is the point when Daniel walked in the room asking, "Wow, what smells so good?"  You know you've got a keeper when your husband starts hovering around the kitchen. 

 

No pictures of the blending, but here's the end product!

 

Drizzle with half-and-half, sprinkle with some fronds (does anyone else think that's a funny word?),
And serve!

 

An added bonus, this recipe is toddler-approved.