Laura's Winter Pear and Fennel Soup

Our favourite January recipe at The Cotswold Guy kitchen HQ, this soup is vegan, detoxing, good for upset stomach, and really perfect for cold January evenings.

Ingredients

olive oil

1 white onion, roughly diced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1tsp ground coriander 1tsp cardamom 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 2 bay leaf fennel - two large or 3 medium 1 ltr good quality Vegetable stock ⁠⁠4 firm pears (not overly ripe)

Maldon sea salt and homemade sourdough croutons to serve

Method

Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over a medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes until it's soft and translucent - you don't want any colour on it.

Add the chopped garlic and stir for about a minute until fragrant. Then add your spices - the ground coriander, cardamom, and white pepper - stirring them through for about 30 seconds. This "blooms" the spices and releases their flavour.

Toss in the fennel chunks, pear pieces, and bay leaves. Give everything a good stir to coat in the spices. Pour in your litre of vegetable stock, bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 25-30 minutes, until the fennel and pear are completely tender.

Fish out the bay leaves, then blend the soup until silky smooth (a stick blender works perfectly for this). Taste and season with Maldon salt as needed.

To serve: Ladle into warm bowls, scatter over your sourdough croutons, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and any reserved fennel fronds.