Winter Squash and Fennel Soup
Greetings food adventurers! Today we travel west from the Shattered Plains, out along the edge of the Tarat Sea and up to the city of Vedenar. Vedenar is known for their large gardens, and with gardens come veggies. The featured meal today is a smooth and slightly spicy Winter Squash & Fennel Soup.
Vedenar is one of the oldest standing cities on Roshar, and the capital of Jah Kaved. (For Stormlight readers, Shallan Davar’s family home is in Jah Kaved). The people tend to be very formal. We are able to get a walking tour of the city, highlighting some of the ancient architecture and the large number of Veden temples to the various devotaries. We head toward the central city, closer to the gardens, and find a table at a small cafe for soup. Hardy veggies like winter squashes and fennel do well here even with the regular highstorms passing over the city.
In the Vorin culture, this would be considered a “masculine” dish, and the ras el hanout would be swapped out with a sweeter spice blend for the “feminine” version. As visitors, we can all eat whatever we like.
Inspired by Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere / Stormlight Archive series and adapted from Eat Drink Garden.
(Note: if you can’t find Ras El Hanout in your local spice aisle, here is a recipe to make the spice blend yourself)
Winter Squash and Fennel Soup
Special Equipment
- Dutch oven pot
- Immersion blender (or regular blender as alternate)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ to 2 pound whole squash OR 2 cups pumpkin puree (see note)
- 2 Tbsp oil (any kind you like)
- 1 medium sweet onion diced
- 1 medium fennel bulb cored and diced, fronds removed
- 4 cups chicken stock / broth (or veggie broth for vegan)
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp ras el hanout (see note)
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp whole fennel seeds
- Plain Greek yogurt for serving (omit for dairy-free / vegan)
- ¼ cup Pepitas for garnish
Instructions
Roast squash (if not using purée):
- This part can be done a day ahead and the puree stored in the fridge until soup time.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Cut the squash in half (the easiest tool is a serrated pumpkin carving tool). Leave the seeds in, or remove them before cooking if you will use the seeds for planting or eating.
- Place the squash cut-side-down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until very soft.
- Set aside to cool. Once the squash is cool enough to handle, remove the seeds (discard or compost them) and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Set aside or refrigerate (covered) until ready to add to the soup.
- The peels can be added to a broth bag, composted, or discarded.
Make soup:
- In a large pot, add oil over medium heat.
- Add the diced onion and fennel to the oil. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes until softened and golden brown. Let them brown a bit on the bottoms.
- Stir in the salt, ras el hanout, black pepper, and fennel seeds. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the broth and the cooked squash to the pot. Stir.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- MEANWHILE, toast the pepitas, then set aside. (Dry frying pan on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, just until they smell toasty and the color starts to turn light brown – about 10-15 minutes)
- Remove soup from the heat.
- Use an immersion blender (or transfer to a stand blender in batches) to blend the soup until smooth and creamy.
- Taste and stir in extra salt if needed. (Salt needs will vary depending on what broth you use)
- Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and a sprinkle of toasted pepitas.
