fennel, leek, and squash soup
In the fall, it's a wonderful practice to simplify your diet for a week. Enjoy vegetables like fennel, celery and leeks. These potent plants cleanse the lymphatic system, support healthy lungs, and lend a bitter-sweet complexity to any dish.
Try adding bitter, liver-cleansing foods like quinoa, chard, beets and spinach. These chenopodium family plants are high in plant nutrients and help restore healthy blood and liver function.
Give these recipes a try!
LEEK, FENNEL & BUTTERNUT SOUP
You will need:
1 medium butternut squash, baked and peeled
2 tablespoons local oil (sunflower or olive)
3 leeks, chopped and rinsed
1 inch fresh ginger root, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped – save fronds for garnish
1 teaspoon each: thyme, cinnamon, turmeric
1 teaspoon each: salt and fresh black pepper
½ cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
fresh, chopped cilantro
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Poke squash with a fork, place on a baking sheet, and bake for about 1 hour (20 minutes per pound).
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large soup pot.
Add the leeks and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the chopped fennel, ginger, hazelnuts, spices, salt and pepper. Sauté for another 5 minutes.
Remove squash from oven, cut it open and let it cool for 5 minutes. Compost the seeds. Scoop out flesh and add it to the soup pot. Add the vegetable stock and stir.
Bring the pot to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat. Blend until smooth.
Garnish with fresh, chopped cilantro.
Serve with cooked quinoa.