Chef John Besh’s ‘Fennel Soup with Crab & Pistou’, from Louisiana Cookin’
When I saw this recipe for ‘Fennel Soup with Crab and Pistou’, courtesy of Chef John Besh, in a recent issue of Louisiana Cookin’ magazine, it was immediately ripped out and placed on my pile of recipes to make and immediately! There was something so comforting and unique about the combination of tastes and textures found in this soup. Similar in its base ingredients to a vichyssoise (a traditional cold leek and potato soup) you begin the soup’s preparation by sautéing fennel, leeks and a peeled, yellow potato in a bit of olive oil. Then you add in the heavy cream and chicken stock and cook the ingredients until tender. The soup so far would be amazingly tasty when pureed, but when I saw the addition of jumbo lump crab meat (yum), a tomato vinaigrette of sorts (tangy, and again, yum) and lastly, a dollop of fresh basil pistou (yum, yum, yum) I was intrigued. A colorful soup that is so elegant, whether you serve it cold as suggested or warmed up a bit like we enjoyed it.
Sautéing the potatoes, leeks & fennel in olive oil
Making the basil pistou
Diced tomatoes in sherry vinaigrette and olive oil
Basil pistou
(To view John Besh’s recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
‘Fennel Soup with Crab & Pistou’
Ingredients:
- Recipe courtesy of Chef John Besh, via Louisiana Cookin’ Magazine
- ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 leek, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 large fennel bulb, chopped
- 1 large yellow potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
- 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
- ½ cup basil leaves
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 pinch grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 oz. jumbo lump crabmeat
- Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish
Directions:
- In a medium pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add leek, garlic, fennel, and potato. Cook until leek and fennel are softened, about 5 minutes. Add bay leaf, chicken stock, and cream. Simmer until potato is very tender, about 25 minutes.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf. Transfer soup to the container of a blender, and blend until smooth. (You can also use an immersion blender directly in the soup pot like I did.) Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. (Or if you want to serve the soup warm like I did, skip this step.)
- In a medium bowl, combine tomato, sherry vinegar, and 1 tablespoon olive oil, and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- In the container of a food processor, combine basil, ¼ cup olive oil, garlic and process until smooth. Stir in the cheese.
- Divide tomato mixture, crabmeat, and basil sprigs among 6 soup bowls filled with the soup. Add basil pistou to the top of each as well, and serve immediately.
Tagged: basil pesto, basil pistou, Cajun, Chef John Besh, chicken stock, cold soup, crab meat, cream, creamy soup, Creole, diced tomatoes, fennel, fennel soup, fennel soup with crab and pistou, garlic, John Besh, jumbo lump crab meat, leek, Louisiana Cookin', Parmesan cheese, pesto, pistou, potato, soup, Tomato
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