Chilled Fennel Soup with Halloumi Croutons

Today a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi for a chilled summer soup. Fennel is one of those vegetables that I never used at home, but I've fallen in love with it. (If you have a chance, look at Simon Hopkinson's entry on 'fennel' in Second Helpings of Roast Chicken.) The fennel is softened with leeks, blended and combined with flavoured Greek yoghurt that adds a smooth creaminess and the freshness of summer herbs. Top the soup with some deep-fried cheese, and you have a winning combination.

Ingredients

• 70ml olive oil, plus extra to finish
• 21/2 tsp fennel seeds [I didn't have any, and they were no where to be found.]
• 3 large fennel bulbs, roughly chopped into 2cm dice
• 2 leeks, roughly chopped into 1cm slices
• 100ml arak, ouzo or Pernod [I improvised. See below.]
• 1.1 litres water
• 2 tbsp chopped thyme
• Zest of 1 lemon, half of it shaved into strips, the rest grated
• 20g chopped dill
• 10g chopped mint
• 5g chopped coriander
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 200g Greek yoghurt
• dry breadcrumbs
• Sunflower oil, for frying
• 200g halloumi, cut into 1cm dice [He recommended 2cm, but that's too big to get the right flavour combination.]
• 1 egg, beaten
• Salt and white pepper

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the fennel seeds for 30 seconds, until they start giving off their aroma. Add the chopped fennel and leeks, and sauté on a medium-low heat for 10 minutes or so, until soft and sweet – don't let them take on any colour, so add a little water if need be.
   
   
2. Pour in the anise-based liqueur, raise the heat and cook for two minutes, so the alcohol evaporates. Add the water, half the thyme, the lemon strips, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and some white pepper, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the lemon, blitz the soup with a hand-held blender (or in a food processor) and leave to cool. [As I said, I didn't have any Pernod, or ouzo--and at £20/bottle it was too much to ask. Knowing how both taste, I made work around by soaking star anise in hot vodka and adding about a tablespoon of sugar and letting is soak for a couple of hours. If you had more time, it would be even better. Remove the star anise and use as Pernod, etc.]
   
   
3. Once cool, stir in the grated lemon zest, herbs, garlic and yoghurt. Taste (and try not to eat too much); adjust the seasoning, then refrigerate. About 20 minutes before serving, take the soup out of the
   fridge so it's chilled but not fridge-cold.
   
   
4. To make the croutons, mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining thyme. Pour enough oil into a small saucepan so that it comes 2.5cm up the sides and place on medium heat.
   Once bubbles begin to rise to the surface, turn down the heat to medium-low and leave for a minute. Dip the halloumi in beaten egg, shake off any excess and then roll in the thyme breadcrumbs. Deep-fry in batches for a minute, until golden-brown – make sure the oil isn't so hot that the cheese sizzles vigorously when it goes in. Transfer the cooked croutons to kitchen towel to drain. (These are also a temptation to eat. Plan to make a few extra.)
   
   
5. Divide the soup among six bowls, drop in a few warm croutons, drizzle with olive oil and
   serve.

Originally published in The Guardian on 8 August 2011.