Homemade chicken fennel soup

Here where I live we’ve officially gotten into soup season. I don’t really believe that there is a season for soup, though. Soup is great all the time. I’ve actually been known to eat soup during the hot summer, from time-to-time.

A couple of days ago I thought up a dream of a soup and brought it to life. I think it’s really delicious, and the garnishes added at the end bring something totally fresh and wonderful to the dish. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• about 2 lbs chicken thighs, cubed large
• 1 lb baby white potatoes
• 2 large carrots
• 1 1/2 large celery stalks, with leaves
• 1 onion
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• generous amount of freshly ground black pepper
• salt, to taste*
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 large sage leaves
• about 4 cups cold water
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 1/2 to 3 Tbsp corn starch
• fresh chopped dill (to garnish)
• sharp cheddar cheese (to garnish)

Recipe procedure

Start by dicing your onion, add to pot together with olive oil and sautee slightly. Add the chicken, diced generously large, and sautee until the outside whitens.

Dice the shallots and cube the rest of the vegetables. Add those to the pot and sautee a little. Add the wine and allow it to simmer for a moment.

 

 

Add the fennel seed, black pepper, nutmeg, bay leaf, sage leaves, salt and water. Bring the soup to a boil on high heat and then lower the heat, allowing the pot to boil gently for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the chicken tender.

At this point take about a cup or two of broth from the pot and set aside. Prepare the milk and corn starch, mixing them until fully combined, without lumps. (I like to do this by adding the milk and starch to a jar and shaking vigorously until combined.) Wisk the milk and starch into the broth that had been set aside. Take the pot off the heat and wisk the broth/milk/starch mixture back into the pot.

Allow to continue cooking until the starch is fully incorporated, cooked and thickened (at least 10 minutes or so).

Garnish with a generous sprinke of fresh dill, chopped, and grated cheddar cheese.

*I generally add some salt before the soup is cooked, and then add more as needed as the soup continues to cook.