Starters & Light meals

Chilled fennel-and-potato soup

4
Easy
20 minutes
20 minutes

A smooth, cold soup is a perfect start to a summer meal. This one gets an added lift from grilled salmon trout and dill pesto. The fennel, potatoes and dill blend well, and a contrast of hot and cold adds interest.

Wine/Spirit Pairing
Cape Point Sauvignon Blanc 2004

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Ingredients

Method
  • 1 large or 2 medium bulbs fennel
  • 45 ml sunflower oil
  • 500 g medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • Flaky salt and milled white pepper
  • About 200g fresh salmon trout, with skin
  • Sunflower oil
  • For the dill pesto, blend together:
  • 1 bunch fresh dill, washed, dried and chopped
  • 45 ml sunflower oil
  • 1 small clove garlic, crushed
  • 15 ml mustard seeds
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Soften the fennel in the heated oil. Stir in the potatoes and gently cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. Season to taste, then blend until smooth. If it seems too thick, thin it down with vegetable stock. Cool and chill.

2. Before serving, cut the fish into 4 pieces. Oil and season. Thread a soaked bamboo skewer through the flesh side of each piece of fish. Slide under a hot grill, skin side up, until the skin crisps. Remove, as the fish will be cooked through.

3. Slip a piece of fish into each bowl of cold soup and serve immediately with a dab of dill pesto.

Phillippa Cheifitz

Recipe by: Phillippa Cheifitz

Regular TASTE contributor Phillippa is a well-known South African author and food writer, and has won many awards, both for her magazine features and her cookbooks.

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