This is a slightly different pumpkin soup – a pumpkin fennel soup. It perfectly fits the weather, which got a little colder here on Easter Monday. Actually, we all know pumpkin soup in all it’s possible versions – Asian-style, with potatoes or even with orange juice. But with fennel, you might think, could that taste good?
Fennel, Pumpkin and Parsley Root – A Perfect Fit
It tastes delicious, try it and I promise you’ll love it. The combination of pumpkin, fennel and parsley root was, as so often, a mere coincidence. A few ingredients from the fridge, including a fennel bulb were waiting eagerly to be consumed. I also found a pumpkin lying next to the fruit basket, and decided this has to be our lunch today. But a pumpkin fennel soup? As I said, I had strong doubts at first that I was almost scared to mess up the whole soup with the fennel. But far from it! Sometimes you actually have to go the “daring” way to discover something new. In this case it was the right decision.
With its fresh aroma, fennel forms a very interesting and delicious contrast to the heavy warmth of the pumpkin.
Beware of the Parsnips
Very important for the pumpkin-fennel soup: Just make sure that you don’t use a parsnip in the soup instead of a parsley root. That happened to me during one of the test runs. It was really bad, as the soup got too sweet. Parsley roots are usually a little thinner than parsnips, although otherwise they look extremely similar. But I wouldn’t rely on the size alone. You can often recognize parsley roots by their smell. They have this soupy smell, like celery or lovage (love parsley). Parsnips have a sweet smell or no smell at all. But if you prefer to be absolutely sure, the best thing to do is to ask directly at the groceries. The gremolata that I used to decorate the soup adds a bit of spiciness and a certain crunch effect. However, it is completely optional. The soup also tastes delicious without it.
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Pumpkin Fennel Soup with Spicy Gremolata
- Prep Time: 20 min.
- Cook Time: 30 min.
- Total Time: 50 min.
- Yield: 4 Portions
Ingredients
Soup
1/2 hokkaido pumpkin
1,2 l vegetable broth
2 onions
1 clove of garlic
2 parsley roots
1 small fennel bulb
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
1 lemon, juice and zest
Salt, freshly ground pepper, to taste
Gremolata
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1/2 small red chili pepper
1 tbsp parsley
1 small clove of garlic
Instructions
- Grate the ginger and garlic, wash the pumpkin, remove the seeds, do not peel it and roughly dice it. Peel and roughly dice the parsley roots and the carrot. Dice the onions.
- Fry the onion with a little oil until translucent, add the garlic and ginger and let it sautée for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the vegetables, stir well and sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. I just add some freshly ground pepper and add a level teaspoon of salt here.
- Pour in the broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer with the lid on until the vegetables are tender.
- Blend everything with a hand blender or food processor.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, add little lemon juice and lemon zest if you like.
- For the gremolata, heat a pan, then lower the heat to medium. Roast all ingredients in a pan for 3-4 minutes at medium heat
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