Spinach and Fennel Soup with Tarragon
Spinach and fennel soup, a gloriously verdant, delicious and silky smooth recipe that adds tarragon to turn up the anise flavour further.
This wonderfully coloured soup will go from your cupboard to your table in a shade over 40 minutes, and it is stupidly easy to make!
Sweet Anise & Spinach Soup
I love a nice creamy bowl of warming and comforting soup.
I don't care whether it is a homely dish like broccoli and stilton soup or Jerusalem artichoke soup or something from further afield like a Turkish lentil soup, Polish zupa ogorkowa or this North African influenced carrot soup; they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
This spinach and fennel soup is the perfect introduction to soup season in the UK. Fennel is in season and at its best from mid-late summer all the way through to almost the end of the year.
Here I combine the sweet aniseed flavour with the rich iron earthiness of spinach.
The spinach not only gives the soup a wonderful flavour, but it also adds loads of nutrients and gives this dish an incredible colour.
I double down on the anise flavour with the addition of loads of fresh tarragon too!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this in advance?
Yes, but it will lose some of its verdant and bright colour as it is reheated. The flaovur will also become a little more bitter as is typical with reheated spinach.
Is this a vegan soup?
Yes, this is vegan as written, although I do add a swirl of cream, which can be replaced with vegan cream.
What does the potato in this recipe do?
The potatoes in this recipe add body to the soup, and as a result, you are looking for a floury or mealy variety.
Something like a Maris Piper or King Edwards in the UK or Russet in the US is perfect.
What should I look for when buying fresh fennel?
When buying fennel, you want bulbs that feel tight to the touch. They should also be free of blemishes and bruises.
The root end of the fennel should cover most of the base of the bulb and be fairly pale.
If it has gone a medium to deep brown, it will not be fresh, whilst it will be safe to eat, it will have lost much of its flavour.
Can I use dried tarragon?
Yes, but dried tarragon loses some of its sweet fennel flavour and is a little more bitter, so add it to taste as you are blending the soup.
Serving Suggestions
I usually serve this spinach and fennel soup with some bread and call it job done.
However, I do usually garnish it with a swirl of cream and some reserved fennel fronds.
If you want a bit more texture, adding some crispy air fryer croutons is a great idea.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 20cm or 8" saucepan with a lid.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Stirring spoon.
- Blender.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
Spinach and Fennel Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Small Onion 75g
- 1 Medium-large Fennel Bulb 275g
- 1 Small Floury Potato 75g
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- ¼-½ teaspoon Salt (this will depend on your stock)
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 500 ml Vegetable Stock 2 cups
- 150 g Spinach 2 Packed Cups
- 20 g Fresh Tarragon ½ Packed Cup
Instructions
- Peel and cut the onion into a rough 1cm (½") dice.
- Trim the woody base off the fennel bulb and remove any fennel fronds (these are great for garnish), then cut the bulb into a rough 1cm (½") dice.
- Peel the potato and cut it into a 1cm (½") dice.
- Heat a 20cm or 8" saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil, toss in the onion and fennel, then cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the diced potato, pour in the vegetable stock, add a lid, and cook until the fennel is tender; this will take around 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid, add the spinach and fresh tarragon and cook until the spinach has completely wilted, this will take 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth and serve.
I’ve just made -&enjoyed very much-this old & unusual recipe…but seeing you’ve updated it in recent years, I’m bemused you haven’t added to your garnish suggestion the use of the sorrel you talk later so much about in the COMMENTS section..initially I’d not bothered to read this , & only by luck realised it even existed right at the end!
Indeed I think if one cant obtain the slightly obscure sorrel.. could one not do quite well adding a small squeeze of lemon right at the end before serving?
Hi John.
I created this recipe in 2015 when I live in Hungary, a place where sorrel was very much more available. I often revisit recipes, and when I revisited this recipe, sorrel was nowhere to be found (outside of mail order), so I rewrote the recipe from scratch. Rather than trying to recreate the dish, I sat down with the ingredients that I had and created a new, similar but different dish. It's just the way that I work.
I'm very happy, but I never cease to be amazed that this website I created over 12 years ago, has me commenting on recipes I created all them years ago.
Thank you
Brian 🙂
Wow, Brian! Not only is this soup gorgeous, it sounds amazingly delicious and is so healthy! Can't wait to give it a try! I have yet to try growing fennel, our season isn't very long and we have heavy clay soil, so I'm not sure I could pull it off! Thanks for the shoutout!
Thank you, healthy only ever happens by accident in these parts 😉
Mmmm I'm very difficult with soup but yours looks delicious Brian, I love the aniseed flavor of fennel whether raw or cooked and always keep 1 or 2 in my fridge! I'll try to make it tonight!
I’m not quite sure I have tried fennel in a soup but I like fennel roasted and raw - I’m sure I would love this soup. What a great looking dish and that colour!...absolutely superb ?? I will definitely give this a try. Thanks for the inspiration Brian. ?
Just as I take hot showers in the middle of summer, I eat soup at all times of year. Not doing so would be madness. My proof is my instagram feed, which is peppered with ramen and pho noodle soups—even in the dead of summer. I love that the veggies for this soup were living in your garden just before making the tasty transformation. I've never tried sorrel before, but you've definitely intrigued me, as I find spinach a bit boring as well. I just bet that the sour cream garnish takes the already glorious flavors over the top! You've made my computer screen look delicious...
Mmmm I'm very difficult with soup but yours looks delicious Brian. I love the aniseed flavor of fennel whether raw or cooked and always keep 1 or 2 in my fridge! I'll try to make it tonight!
Thanks Patty, I love fennel too!
I’m not quite sure I have tried fennel like this but I like fennel roasted and raw. I’m sure I would love this soup. What a great looking dish and that colour!...absolutely superb ?? I will definitely give this a try. Thanks for the inspiration Brian.
I just love that aniseed flavour particularly with the almost citrus-like sorrel, have fun!
Just as I take hot showers in the middle of summer, I eat soup at all times of year. Not doing so would be madness. My proof is my instagram feed, which is peppered with ramen and pho noodle soups—even in the dead of summer. I love that the veggies for this soup were living in your garden just before making the tasty transformation. I've never tried sorrel before, but you've definitely intrigued me, as I find spinach a bit boring as well. I just bet that the sour cream garnish takes the already glorious flavors over the top! You've made my computer screen look delicious...
I know right? I've just cooked a hot and sour soup coming up in a couple of weeks 😀 You really must try sorrel, unlike spinach it has a very strong flavour and is almost citrus like in flavour which makes it a great summer recipe ingredient!
It may be a British thing Maggie, summer soups are almost un-heard of, glad you like the recipe... Let me know how you get on making it, I love it, vibrant and zingy everything summer should be 🙂
Refreshing and delicious! Beautiful flavors for a soup and love that pretty color green. I just made a light and delicious Chinese soup with loads of veggies today and it was perfect. I agree that soups are not just for winter. Just pinned!
Thank you very much... I love this type of cooking, head into the garden find what is good put it together and job done, especially when it turns out like this 🙂
Thank you 🙂
The Hungarians love cold fruit soups, I have to say they are really not to my liking at all...
This is a beautiful bowl of soup! I love fennel but have never tried it in this form. Lovely blog - what a wonderful adventure you and your wife are enjoying!
Thanks Tricia, the soup is wonderfully fresh and light and as for the adventure... Life you be pretty dull without them 😉
I've always been afraid to cook with fennel. I am not sure I like the flavor. But people tell me I should like it!
Fennel is a big flavour and I know lots of people are not so keen on aniseed as a flavour profile, I love it, I could eat them like an apple... But I have kept the fennel flavour as a back note in this soup and lightened it with loads of sorrel which gives a lovely vibrant lemony freshness with just a hint of aniseed and cumin... A perfect place to start for someone who is not sure if they like fennel if you ask me 😉
We began to earnestly cook with fennel last year and yes, it's typically associated with hardy and savory cool-weather dishes - something that has always seems a paradox to me as it is readily available as freshly harvested produce at our summer farmer's markets. Thanks for this great summer soup idea; it looks and sounds wonderfully summer.
It does seem something of an odd one, the fennel season definitely runs right through summer into early autumn but it does get associated with more robust dishes although it is certainly becoming more popular in salads in the UK which is a good thing as far as I am concerned.
Thanks Paige, yes the potato just adds that little bit of body that holds the whole thing together, let me know what you think... I loved it 😉
Mmm, I don't think I've ever tried fennel in a soup before, but the flavours in this sound wonderful! I love the addition of cumin and paprika. They always work so well together. I will definitely have to make this!
Excellent, thanks Harriet... I live in Hungary so am duty bound to say that Paprika makes everything taste better ha ha 🙂
Now that is a summary soup!!! As a child I never liked fennel... It's amazing how taste buds change.. I will try this soup soon 😉
I don't think I ate fennel until long after I left home but I love it now, the fennel flavour is quite subtle in this with the cumin and fennel giving the back flavours and the zing and lightness all coming from the sorrel, but you could flip that around by playing with the balance really easily.
I just tried Fennel salad and loved it. Time for some soup now 🙂
Fennel salad really is a thing of great beauty, I love it finely shaved and then served with peaches and mozerella cheese and a bit of orange juice based dressing simple and wonderful!