Description
Ina Garten’s creamy potato fennel soup delivers rich comfort with French-inspired elegance. Mediterranean herbs and velvety texture invite warm connections to classic culinary traditions you’ll savor deeply.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1½ lbs (680 g) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and 1-inch diced
- 5 cups (500 g / about 2 bulbs) sliced fennel, tops and cores removed, fronds reserved
- 4 cups (500 g / 3 onions) sliced yellow onions
- 5 cups (1.2 L) good chicken stock (preferably homemade)
- 1 cup (240 ml) half-and-half
- 2 tbsps (30 ml) Pernod liqueur
- 2 tbsps (30 g / ¼ stick) unsalted butter
- good olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- garnishes: Meredith Dairy cheese, cubed creamy goat cheese, croutons, cooked crumbled bacon, and/or cooked pancetta
Instructions
- Flavor Foundation: Gently warm olive oil and butter in a medium pot over moderate heat. Caramelize finely chopped fennel and onions through periodic stirring until golden-brown, approximately 15 minutes.
- Liquid Integration: Add diced potatoes and chicken stock, seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a robust boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes until potatoes become exceptionally tender.
- Textural Transformation: Transfer soup in batches to a food processor, puréeing until achieving a silky, uniform consistency. Return processed soup to the original cooking vessel, maintaining temperature and smoothness.
- Flavor Enhancement: Introduce Pernod and half-and-half, creating a luxurious creamy profile. Taste and adjust seasonings to achieve a perfectly balanced flavor spectrum.
- Elegant Presentation: Pour steaming soup into shallow bowls, strategically positioning garnishes in the center. Drizzle with a hint of olive oil and crown with reserved fennel fronds, presenting a visually stunning and aromatic culinary masterpiece.
Notes
- Caramelize Carefully: Take time to slowly cook fennel and onions until golden brown, as this develops deep, rich flavor foundations for the entire soup.
- Potato Perfection: Ensure potatoes are extremely tender before puréeing, which guarantees a smooth, creamy texture without lumps.
- Pernod Precision: Add Pernod sparingly to enhance anise undertones without overpowering the delicate fennel and potato flavors.
- Garnish Strategically: Fresh fennel fronds and a drizzle of olive oil transform this soup from simple to sophisticated, adding visual appeal and final flavor complexity.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg