French Lentil Soup with Fennel and Star Anise

French Lentil Soup with Fennel and Star Anise

Taylor and I are settling back into life at Tumbleweed Farm after 2 weeks of vacation. The late fall is the only time of the year when we can escape and it has been lovely. However, we have found that we are more relaxed when we can keep a close eye on things.  Particularly making sure our recently planted garlic doesn't get eaten by gofers! Safe and sound! Now that we are back at home and cooking in our own kitchen I was excited to whip up a batch of this soup. Have you all eaten a meal at someone else's house and for the life of you cannot stop thinking about it? That my friends is this soup. I've stayed up at night thinking about this meal ever since I had it two weeks ago in Montana. Seriously. It's that good! My brothers girlfriend Rebekah made this soup for us on a particularly chilly evening in Montana. It was lightly snowing outside and this soup was our ticket to feeling warm and cozy for the rest of the evening. I begged Rebekah for the recipe and she told me it was a modified version of Heidi Swanson's Kabocha French Lentil Soup. I knew I wanted to make this soup as soon as we got back to Tumbleweed Farm. And as luck would have it, snow lightly fell from the sky while I got busy in the kitchen. Perfect timing! Tumbleweed Farm's first snowfall of the year! It accumulated quite a bit more after I took this photo. Henry and Taylor spent the time chopping firewood while I cooked us all dinner. We were all very productive!   The original recipe calls for Kabocha squash (a winter squash) however, both Rebekah and I agreed this tastes amazing minus the fuss of the squash. Honestly, this is one of the best soups I've had in ages and it's so stinking healthy and easy to whip up. I switched things up a bit to suite our needs and I am really happy with the end result. Dig in! Enjoy!

French Lentil Soup with Fennel and Star Anise

Prep Time: 10 mins.
Cook Time: 45 mins.
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 cup French green lentils, rinsed and picked over
  • 2 large leeks, diced, white and light green parts only
  • 1 large fennel bulb, finely chopped (reseve fonds for garnish)
  • Roughly 2 TBS fresh minced ginger
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 TBS grape seed oil (or oil of choice)
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. In a medium sauce pan combine the lentils, ginger, star anise and water. Simmer until tender. About 30 minutes.
  2. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the grapeseed oil. Once heated through add the fennel and leeks. Cook until veggies are tender. About 5-8 minutes. Stir often.
  3. Remove the star anise from the lentils. Pour the lentils and broth into the leek and fennel pot. Season with salt. Let simmer over a low heat for about 15 minutes allowing the flavors to blend.
  4. Season to taste with salt, pepper, fennel fonds, and plenty of crushed red pepper flakes.
  5. Serve with crusty bread and red wine! Enjoy!

Notes

Please use this recipe as a guide. Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.

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