Description
A comforting and flavorful gluten-free, vegan soup featuring sautéed leeks, fennel, apple, turmeric, and toasted walnuts, blended to a creamy smooth texture and perfect for any season.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Ingredients
- 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, stirring and sautéing until the leeks become soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add fennel and apple: Add the chopped fennel and apple to the pot, stirring them together thoroughly.
- Add turmeric and sauté: Sprinkle the ground turmeric over the vegetables and stir carefully to coat them evenly. Continue to sauté until the fennel begins to soften, about 4 minutes more.
- Incorporate walnuts and season: Stir in the toasted walnut halves. Season the mixture with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- Add vegetable stock and simmer: Pour in the vegetable stock and stir. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer until all the vegetables and apple are very soft, about 15 minutes.
- Blend soup: Remove the soup from heat. Carefully blend the soup in batches in an upright blender until the mixture is completely smooth.
- Adjust seasoning and reheat: Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed. Pour the puréed soup back into the pot and bring it to a boil before serving.
- Serve and garnish: Serve the hot soup with optional drizzles of maple syrup, fresh black pepper, fennel fronds, and extra toasted walnuts as garnish.
Notes
- Homemade vegetable stock is ideal but store-bought works well for convenience.
- Celery can be used as a substitute for fennel if unavailable.
- Pecans can replace walnuts for a different yet complementary flavor.
- For smoother texture, strain soup after blending if desired.
- Add a splash of maple syrup to enhance the natural sweetness if preferred.
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: 4 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
