What’s a fennel?

I made soup today: fennel potato soup, to be exact, and a zucchini casserole to go with it, and my mother in law came over for lunch.

 

“Mmm, good soup – what’s in it?” she asked.

“Potatoes, a shallot, some dill, milk, vegetable stock and fennel,” I replied.

“What’s fennel?” asked Tall Guy and his mom, simultaneously.

“Um, fennel is...fennel. It kind of looks like an onion, but it tastes a little bit like licorice,” I tried to explain.

“OH, celery,” said the MIL.

“Nooooo, fennel. Like anise?” I tried again.

“I really don’t know what fennel is, but it’s nice soup.”

Unfortunately, all of my fennel was blended into soup, so I didn’t even have any on hand to show.

Later in the afternoon, I looked up “fennel”. It’s hinojo (ee-NO-hoe).

Ease: very straightforward, but too bad you have to boil the potatoes before blending! Surprisingly, I didn't need the tamper, and also surprisingly, the liquid didn't come out of the lid...

holding down the lid just in case...

Flavour: nice, but next time I'll be using more garlic!
Make again: yes!