Carrot Fennel Soup

This soup was completely an experiment, but it turned out okay!  It started out on the sweet side because of the carrots.  Since I'm not a huge fan of sweet soups, I added the salt, paprika, and cumin-coriander powder and it helped a lot.  However, if you like sweet soups, you can omit these ingredients.  Although it's vegan, I noticed that it's actually kind of creamy, which I didn't expect.  The fried fennel seeds in oil is also optional.  I liked it because it gave it that extra bit of flavor.

Ingredients

1 large fennel bulb with green fronds on top 5-6 carrots, peeled and cut into big slices 1 onion, cut into large cubes 2 garlic cloves, cut in half 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 4 cups veggie broth (or 2 veggie bullion cubes in 4 cups of water) 1 tbsp fennel seeds 1.5 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt (optional, I would add it after tasting the final soup if your veggie broth has salt) 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp ground cumin-coriander powder

Directions

1.  Cut the green fronds off the top of the fennel bulb.  Chop the green fronds finely and keep on the side for the topping.  Slice the bulb into large cubes.2.  In a 9 x 13 baking dish, mix the fennel bulb, carrots, onion, garlic, and black pepper, and 1 tbsp of olive oil.  Heat in the oven at 350 F for about 30 min until the fennel bulb begins to brown.3.  After the veggies cool, blend them with 2 cups of veggie broth until all the pieces are gone.  Pour this through a strainer with large holes into a large saucepan.  If there is pulp left, blend it with the remaining broth and strain again.4.  In a very small pan, heat 0.5 tbsp of olive oil and the fennel seeds on high until the seeds begin to sizzle.  When they turn a light brown, add them to the soup. 5.  Add the paprika and cumin-coriander powder.  Simmer the soup for 10-15 mins.6.  Serve hot, topped with ~1 tsp of the fronds per bowl.