Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup water
3 leeks, white parts only, sliced into rounds
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and quartered
1 celery root, trimmed, quartered and sliced
1-2 teaspoons nutritional yeast (optional)
½ teaspoon sea salt
6-7 cups stock of choice
½ to 1 cup light cream
freshly ground pepper
inner fennel leaves, finely chopped

Directions:

  1. Melt the butter with ½ cup water and add the leeks, fennel, celery root, nutritional yeast, if using, and salt. Give everything a stir; then cover and stew very slowly for 20 minutes. Check once during cooking to make sure there is ample moisture in the pot and add a little more water or stock if there is not.
  2. Pour the stock over the vegetables, bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 15 minutes more. Let cool briefly before blending the soup for a full minute, in two or more batches, to make it smooth. The soup may have quite a bit of air in it at first, but after a while it will settle down to a more creamy, less fluffy consistency.
  3. Stir in the cream. If the soup is too thick – celery root will cause it to thicken as it sits – thin with additional cream or stock. Taste for salt, add more if necessary, and season with pepper. Stir in the chopped fennel fronds and stir to combine.

Serves 4-6