Finocchio

Fennel Soup

• 2 bulbs of fresh fennel with the tops cut off – diced
• (you may use the fennel tops for garnish on fish!)
• 1 large red onion – diced
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic – minced
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 – 16 oz can of chicken broth
• 1 – 16 oz can of beef broth
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 3 cups of grated grana or parmigiano cheese
• 1 tbsp of corn starch
• 1 /2 cup of bechamel sauce (if you are gluten free you can skip this part)
• salt and pepper to taste
• S & S Lamb bacon as a garnish – which you may pick up at the Fulton farmers market from Pierre!

Start by heating up the olive oil and butter in a sauce pan.

Once it is hot, add the diced fennel, diced onion and minced garlic to the pan and saute until brown.

Once they are browned, add the broth and cream.

In a separate bowl toss the grated cheese with the tbsp of corn starch – this prevents the cheese from clumping when you add it to the soup!

Once the mixture comes to a boil add the cheese-corn starch mixture and stir until cheese is blended in to the soup.

Once this comes to a boil again, add the bechamel and/or a slurry of 1/2 cup corn starch and 1 cup of cold water to thicken the soup to your desired consistency.

If you choose to thicken the soup with a corn starch slurry – please add it slowly and let it boil so you can see how thick it is getting before you add more. The more you add – the thicker it will be.

Add salt and black pepper to taste and serve with the lamb bacon garnish or just a little extra parmigiano, parsley and diced red bell pepper!