Carrot Fennel Mystery Soup

The mystery here is all the yummy goodies hidden in the soup. I cook for a lot of picky eaters and they've never been the wiser; they love this soup! I'm sure you can add other things as well; be creative! Use an apple in place of the pear, if you wish.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
• Calories: 181 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 3 bay leaves
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon curry powder
• ½ cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 ½ tablespoons fennel seed
• 1 tablespoon flax seed
• 1 ½ pounds carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 pear - peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 small russet potato, peeled and cubed
• 3 (14 ounce) cans vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons uncooked brown rice

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Lightly toast the fennel seed in the hot oil until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the carrots, pear, sweet potato, russet potato, mushrooms, curry powder, and turmeric to the fennel seed; cook and stir until everything is evenly coated in oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the vegetable broth over the mixture. Stir the rice, flax seed, bay leaves, and parsley into the broth; bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the rice and vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Step 2

Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway. Hold the lid of the blender in place with a towel and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the mixture moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot and return to heat.

Step 3

Stir the lemon juice and white pepper into the mixture; cook until thoroughly reheated, about 5 minutes.