Fennel Soup with Watercress and Chickpeas

Fennel soup is one of my favorite vegetable soup recipes.

This fennel soup recipe features a blend of warm and savory ingredients, making it perfect for the chilly days of fall and beyond.

Like most soups, you can freeze it and enjoy it again and again, at home or at work!

About this

For most of my life, I haven’t been much of a soup maker.

This is a little strange because I grew up eating the stuff.

Lots of Campbell’s soup but more often my mom’s chicken soup with her homemade Mennonite noodles.

She made it loos so easy. Effortless even.

I don’t ever expect to match my mom’s finesse when it comes to making soup, or anything else.

But that’s not going to stop me from trying.

This fennel soup is a great example.

One thing I love about making my own soup is knowing what is in it.

Just as important, I like to know what is not in it!

What’s in it

• Chicken Broth
• Fennel
• Watercress
• Chickpeas
• Celery
• Lemon
• Cumin
• White Wine
• Crushed Red Pepper
• Black Pepper

For this fennel soup recipe, I use our own chicken broth and a can of sodium-free chickpeas along with a handful of produce from our local grocer.

I love knowing there are little to no preservatives in this fennel soup.,

And not a grain of salt.

The first time I made this easy homemade soup, I had some initial concern about the bland factor.

Still I resisted my urge to jiggle our salt shaker over the pot.  I’m happy I did.

A  little fresh lemon, some fresh ground peppercorn, and s pinch or so of crushed red peppers,  and zing!  

The flavor comes together.  Fresh,  hot, nutritious and hardy.

I  wish my mom was still around to taste this homemade soup. I’m pretty sure she would give it a thumbs up.

I think you will too!

Pro tip

Serve soup in a pre-heated bowl! In the old days, soup was served in cups (mugs) to help it to say hot for a longer time.

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Fennel Soup with Watercress and Chickpeas

5 from 3 votes

Homemade fennel soup recipe that features of savory blend of fresh fennel, watercress, and chickpeas.

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr

Yield: 4 people

By: Dan from Platter Talk

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 1 fennel bulb, washed and coarsely diced
• ▢ 1 cups chopped celery
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ splash of white wine
• ▢ juice from 1 lemon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ pinch crushed red peppers
• ▢ fresh ground peppercorn to taste
• ▢ 1 15 oz can low sodium chickpeas
• ▢ 1 bunch of watercress, washed and stems removed

Instructions 

• Using large sauce pan or stock pot, heat olive oil or medium high heat.
• Add fennel and celery, stir and sautée until soft but not brown.
• Add wine to deglaze pot.
• Add broth and lemon juice, bring to a simmer then cover and reduce heat.
• Allow to cook 1-2 hours.
• Use immersion blender to blend to desired consistency. Add 1/2 can of chickpeas and blend. Add remaining chickpeas and keep whole.
• Add cumin, fresh ground peppercorn and crushed red pepper to taste.
• Ladle hot soup into soup bowls, add watercress immediately.
• Serve while hot, preferably into pre-heated soup bowls.

Notes

Vegetable broth may be substituted for the chicken broth to provide a completely vegetarian soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 178kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1228mg, Potassium: 678mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 209IU, Vitamin C: 24mg, Calcium: 97mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Tried this recipe?Mention @plattertalk or tag #plattertalk!

Updated from the original post of December 8, 2014