To tell you the truth, I thought twice about bothering to post this potato and fennel soup. I made it, took pictures of it, singlehandedly ate almost the whole batch, and then talked myself out of sharing it with you all. I decided it was too basic, too boring, not worthy of your time.
But days after it was gone, I found myself wishing for another bowl and I realized I crave simple. Simple is good. Simple is worth sharing.
This is a good soup for chilly, rainy spring days. The fennel and leek flavors are light and cheery, the potatoes provide the thick, creamy texture that’s bound to bring you comfort when your surroundings are gray, and a dollop of black olive paste adds a punch of flavor.
Sometimes this whole food blogging business can be downright painful. See, I’m sitting here at my computer, remembering what these blondies smelled like as they were baking…like buttery, caramelly, brown sugary goodness, straight from the heavens. And now instead of writing, I’m just staring at the crackled tops of these bars, thinking about their perfectly chewy edges and just how addictively sweet/soft/salty/crunchy/chewy they were .
When I was 20, I spent a semester in Florence, Italy. I arrived a fairly committed vegetarian but within a week or 2, there I was, debating the merits of Prosciutto di Parma versus Prosciutto di San Daniele at the market, working up the nerve to try a tripe sandwich, and being schooled on how to chop chicken livers with a mezzaluna to make the ubiquitous crostini toscani. Needless to say, it was an exciting time in my life.
I’m struggling to come up with something to write about this soup. What can I say about its warming, comfort food qualities that I haven’t said about most of the dishes I’ve shared here in the past 6 months?
What started with a simple cheese plate has led to so much more.