Potato-Fennel Soup with Browned Onions

Sign up for Forwarding the News, our essential morning briefing with trusted, nonpartisan news and analysis, curated by Senior Writer Benyamin Cohen.

Photograph by Alix Wall

This very simple and rich-tasting soup can be made with no dairy products.

Fennel is well-known as a seasoning, particularly in seed form. It is less well known as a vegetable: a light green bulb that is crunchy, juicy, and deeply, though subtly, flavored.

Preparation time: about 40 minute
Yield: about 6 servings

1 tablespoon butter or oil
4 cups thinly sliced onions
2 teaspoons salt
4 medium potatoes (average fist-sized), not necessarily peeled, and sliced into thin pieces 1 to 2 inches long
1 cup freshly minced fennel bulb
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
4 cups water
White pepper, to taste

Optional toppings: sour cream, thinned (by beating with a little whisk in a little bowl), the feathery tops of the fennel, well minced

1) Melt the butter (or heat the oil) in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the onions are very, very soft and lightly browned.

2) Add the potatoes, another ½ teaspoon of salt, the minced fennel bulb and the caraway seeds. Sauté over medium heat for another 5 minutes, then add the water. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender (5 to 10 minutes).

3) Taste to adjust salt; add white pepper. Serve hot, topped with a decorative swirl of thinned sour cream and/or minced feathery fennel tops.