Fennel Avgolemono Soup
"This recipe is from Gourmet magazine's very interesting November 1990 article about fennel. Fennel stimulates the appetite, refreshes the palate, and aids the digestion. It also contains few calories. Fennel is a member of the carrot family. It is also a 'cousin' of parsley and dill. It adds an interesting flavour twist to a classic Greek recipe."
photo by *Parsley*
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 7
- Yields:
-
7 cups
- Serves:
- 6
ingredients
- 1 (1/2 lb) fennel bulb, trimmed and cut lengthwise into julienne strips (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 tablespoons fennel leaves, minced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1⁄2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 large egg yolks
directions
- In a large heavy saucepan cook the julienned fennel and the shallots in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring occassionally, for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer the mixture, covered for 15 minutes or until the fennel is just tender but not soft, and remove the pan from the heat.
- In a heatproof bowl whisk together the lemon juice and the yolks. Whisk 1 cup of the soup liquid, a little at a time, into the yolk mixture. Add yolk mixture to the soup, whisking.
- Return soup to the stove and reheat over low heat, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the minced fennel leaves just prior to serving.
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Reviews
-
This was our first time eating avgolemono. Very light, very tangy and cooling on a hot afternoon...14 y/o son says he would eat it again. I paired it with a toasted cheese panini (swiss and colby jack.) I added lemon basil leaves in the sandwiches, and it went together well. I chose this recipe because I had a leek and a small fennel bulb to use, and we love lemon. Our local lemons here in Hawaii sometimes have a calamansi-type twang to them, don't know if it changed the flavor. I think I need more fennel; could not taste it at all. Would try it again! -
I'm a huge fan of fennel and loved that this soup showcased it as the star. It's light-tasting and the lemon flavor accents the fennel very nicely. I used two fennel bulbs for this. This would make a nice appetizer soup for a holiday dinner...... especially in the spring. Thanx! -
Light tasty soup. It was just a bit lemony so next time I think I will cut back a bit. Easy to make and would make a nice starter soup Made for PAC spring 2009 -
This was a nice soup, but we felt it could have used more fennel. It tasted like a basic avgolemono soup, and the fennel flavour was buried by the lemon juice. Interesting idea to combine the two, but it really needs more fennel to make an impact. Thanks for posting! Made for PAC Fall 2008.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I am a classically trained chef and a grad of NECI in Vermont. I ran my own catering company for years and then decided to switch gears and go to law school. I now practice law and cook just for fun.
I enjoy cooking for friends and DH and I entertain regularly. I also cook for my three golden retrievers and have found several wonderful biscuit recipes here at Zaar.
I collect cookbooks and food literature. My all time favourite food writer is MFK Fisher. If you have not read it, I commend her short story "Borderland " to you. It is one of the most evocative pieces of food writing ever. My current favourite cookbook is "Urban Italian - Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food" by Andrew Carmelini.
For years I managed to hang on to all of my back issues of Gourmet some of which date back to the 1980's. Sadly, I recently lost that particular battle and to promote marital harmony, I am recycling my old mags but am posting my favorite Gourmet recipes along with some interesting ones worthy of a test drive.
