Creamy Fennel And Leek Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

30 g unsalted butter
2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
3 leeks, thoroughly washed, 2 thinly sliced, and 1 cut in half lengthways, and then cut into 4cm strips (for garnish)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cups chicken stock or 4 cups vegetable stock
2 rosemary sprigs
1/3 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup sour cream, low fat is fine
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup sour cream, low fat is fine, to garnish
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to garnish

Preparation

Heat the butter in a large, deep (preferably non-stick) saute pan, over a medium heat, add the sliced fennel (NOT the strips of fennel), sliced leek and finely chopped garlic, and saute, while stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until the fennel, leeks and garlic are beginning to soften.
Remove from the heat, and set aside.
In a large pot, heat the stock, add the rosemary sprigs, thyme and nutmeg and bring to the boil.
Simmer over a low heat for about 15 minutes.
Remove the rosemary sprigs.
Add the fennel, leek and garlic mixture to the pot, and stir to combine all the ingredients.
Set the pan in which the fennel, leek and garlic were sauteed aside, for re-use later.
Allow the soup to cool slightly (10 minutes cooling time should be ample), then blend it in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.
As each batch is blended, pour the blended soup into another pot or pan, perhaps the deep pan used earlier to saute the fennel, leeks and garlic.
Once all of the soup has been blended, stir it to ensure that it is of an even consistency (inevitably some batches were probably thinner than others).
Stir the sour cream and the 1/4 cup of parmesan into the soup.
Reheat the soup over a medium heat until it is hot, but do not allow it to come to the boil.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Turn off the heat and leave the soup covered so that it stays warm.
In a small non-stick pan, heat the oil, and saute the extra leek for 2-3 minutes, or until softened but not browned.
Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and top with the sauteed leek.
Garnish with the extra parmesan and sour cream, and serve immediately with warm crusty rolls.
Chef's Note: Since posting this recipe, and since last making this soup, I have found and posted a fabulous recipe for vegetable, quite unlike others I have used in the past: Vegetable Stock Recipe #135453.