I recently had a cooking demonstration with someone who wanted to learn more about cooking and eating healthier. I was a Christmas present to Wes from his dad. Wes and I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen and had a blast. He was so eager to learn about different flavors and ingredients. One ingredient he told he wanted to experiment with in particular was fennel. I was psyched for the reason that I am a huge fennel fan. We decided to make a Roasted Fennel and Potato Soup.

Instead of using half and half or cream, this potato fennel soup uses fat-free milk for its creamy base. I used a small amount of olive oil instead of butter. The calories, fat and cholesterol saved from making these small adjustments are huge. Potatoes are an essential source of fuel and energy even when dieting. It is a complex carbohydrate rich in source of vitamin B, folate and minerals such as potassium, magnesium and iron. A medium potato provides almost half the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.

I pulled this information from the following site http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/fennel-bulb.html while looking into more fennel related recipes. I am a huge fan of this vegetable because of its versatility. I love it roasted and use it frequently shredded in salads. Look for more recipes soon with fennel as an ingredient.

All the beautiful ingredients simmering away

Health benefits of fennel bulb
Bulb fennel is one of very low calorie vegetables. 100 g bulb provides just 31 calories. Further, it contains generous amounts of fiber (3.1 g/100 g or 8% of RDI), very little fat and zero cholesterol.
Fresh bulbs give sweet anise-like flavor. Much of it is due to high concentration of aromatic essential oils like anethole, estragole, and fenchone (fenchyl acetate). Anethole has been found to have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.
The bulbs have moderate amounts of minerals and vitamins that are essential for optimum health. Their juicy fronds indeed contain several vital vitamins such as pantothenic acid, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin in small but healthy proportions. 100 g fresh bulbs provide 27 µg of folates. Folic acid is essential for DNA synthesis and cell division. Their adequate levels in the diet during pregnancy can help prevent neural tube defects in the newborn babies.
In addition, fennel bulb contain average amount of water-soluble vitamin, vitamin-C. 100 g of fresh bulbs provide 12 mg or 20% of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals. Further, it has small amounts of vitamin A.
The bulbs have very good levels of heart-friendly electrolyte potassium. 100 g provides 414 mg or 9% of daily-recommended levels. It is an important electrolyte inside the cell. Potassium helps reduce blood pressure and rate of heartbeats by countering effects of sodium. Fennel also contains small amounts of minerals such as copper, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and
selenium.

The finished product

Roasted Fennel & Potato Soup

1 Tablespoon of olive Oil

1 Cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves chopped

4 parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons fennel seeds toasted and ground (grinding
optional)

1 large fennel bulb chopped (about 2 lbs)

3 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

4 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 C fat-free milk

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Trim the fennel bulbs. Cut off the stalks, fronds and remove the base. Cut the fennel bulb into wedges. Do this by cutting the bulb in half and follow by cutting each half into half again so that you have quarters. Place the quarters into a bowl, coat with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the bulbs into a parchment-lined pan and place into preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Keep your eye on the progress, as it should become soft and golden brown.

In a large pot, sauté onions onion, garlic and toasted ground fennel seeds until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the
potatoes, fennel, lemon juice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer about 25 minutes. Stir in the milk.
With a blender, hand immersion blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches. I say hand immersion blender is the ticket. One of the best purchases I have ever made!

Ladle soup in to bowls and serve immediately.

Serves 8

1 serving:

Calories 156, Fat 2.1g (saturated fat <1g, polyunsaturated fat <1g, monounsaturated fat 1.2g) Carbohydrates 30.5g, Fiber 3g, Protein 5g

Completely unrelated but…

Here is an interesting story to think about next time you want to go through the drive-up window at Mickey D’s

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/chicken-nuggets-how-bad-are-they

As Super Bowl Weekend approaches, I am excited to help out my friend Doug who has enlisted my help for homemade bread for his wild boar sliders. In exchange for 50 small hearty rolls, Doug is going to hook me up with some smoked wild boar so that I can create my own wild boar sliders to impress my friends.

Doug and I are going to chat tomorrow about our ideas on condiments, bread and the execution of the said sliders.

Stay tuned for my next blog to see what comes of this exotic sounding vision.

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