This soup starts with big mounds of sliced fennel and onions, but don’t worry—these vegetables will reduce dramatically as they slowly cook down, turning brown and sweet and developing a deep, rich flavor that you will love.—Anna Thomas

convert Ingredients
3 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed
4 large yellow onions
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1 cup dry wine, red or white
6 cups homemade light vegetable broth
Freshly ground black pepper

Cheese croutons, optional garnish

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Method
1. Trim and clean the fennel bulbs, quarter them lengthwise, and slice them thinly crosswise. Peel the onions and do the same, cutting them in quarters lengthwise, then slicing thinly.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in each of two large saute pans. Add the fennel to one and the onions and bay leaf to the other, each with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook the vegetables slowly over medium-low heat, stirring pretty often, until they are all a gorgeous golden brown. This will take forever—45 minutes to 1 hour—but you can be doing other things as long as you cast an eye on them now and then and give them a stir.

3. When both the fennel and onions are nicely softened and browned, add the wine to the fennel to deglaze the pan and then add the fennel to the onions. Continue cooking and stirring until the wine has cooked away and the vegetables are sizzling. Combine the caramelized fennel and onions with the broth in a soup pot and use a little of the broth to deglaze the pan, so that all the lovely brown bits go into your soup. Simmer the soup gently, covered, for another 20 minutes to blend all the flavors. Add pepper to taste.

4. Taste, and correct the seasoning with a little more salt if needed.

Another way: This soup is wonderful with a cheese crouton on each serving, the way traditional onion soup is served. Ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls or individual casseroles, place a piece of toasted French bread on top of each serving, and cover each toast with about 1 ounce grated Parmesan or Gruyère cheese or any sharp, aged cheese that you like. Put the bowls on a baking sheet and slide them under a broiler for a few minutes, just long enough to melt and brown the cheese.

Recipe © 2009 Anna Thomas. All rights reserved.

This beautiful soup of carrots and yam is bright orange and full of subtle, interesting flavors. Parsnips and celery root quietly balance the sweetness of carrots and yams, and a light touch of spices and citrus juices brings out the best in the vegetables without dominating. But for drama in the bowl and on your taste buds, try this with a little spoonful of dark red chile salsa floating on top of each serving. Fantastic!—Anna Thomas

convert Ingredients
1 large yam
1 large yellow onion
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
12 ounces carrots
6 ounces parsnips
4 ounces trimmed celery root
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
One 1-inch stick cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly toasted and ground
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch of hot paprika or cayenne
About 4 cups light homemade vegetable broth or 3 cups canned vegetable broth diluted with 1 cup water
Grated zest of 1 orange
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)

Fruity green olive oil, for garnish
Cooked chile salsa, option garnish

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Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

2. Wash the yam, pierce it once or twice with a fork, and roast it until it is completely soft, about 45 minutes (longer if you’ve got a very large yam). Allow it to cool slightly, then peel.

3. While the yam is roasting, chop the onion and saute it in the olive oil with a pinch of salt over medium-low heat, stirring often until it’s soft and browned, at least 20 minutes, longer if needed.

4. To make the soup, peel and slice the carrots, parsnips, and celery root and combine them in a medium soup pot with about 3 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, the honey, and the spices. Simmer the vegetables, covered, until they are completely tender, about half an hour. Add the roasted yam and the onion as soon as they are ready, along with the vegetable broth, grated orange rind, and citrus juices.

5. Puree the soup in a blender, in batches, or with an immersion blender until perfectly smooth. Return it to a clean pot, bring it back to a simmer, and taste it. Correct the seasoning with more salt or a little more lemon juice if needed. Stir in the butter at the end for a richer taste and silky texture—or leave it out if you prefer a vegan soup.

6. Serve the soup with a drizzle of fresh olive oil on top, and for a really spectacular dish, drop a spoonful of dark red salsa in the center of each bowl. A salsa that is not hot, just mildly spicy and incredibly flavorful, is a splendid finish.

Recipe © 2009 Anna Thomas. All rights reserved.

This creamy potato and roasted garlic soup has a story behind it. My friend Jane is one of the people who has a standing invitation to come over for a casual bowl of soup and a glass of wine. One evening she called and said that she had met a new friend, an interesting Turkish writer who was visiting our valley on a writer’s retreat.

“She’s so isolated,” said Jane, “up in the hills with no car, and she doesn’t know anyone here. Could I bring her with me for a bowl of soup?”

“How about tonight?” I said. “I have a big pot of soup in the refrigerator.”

Fifteen minutes later I got an e-mail. The lonely Turkish writer was fiercely allergic to onions, leeks, scallions, shallots, and green onions. Only garlic was all right.

“I can’t imagine that any soup you have in the fridge doesn’t have one of those in it,” wrote Jane, her mournful tone seeping out of my computer screen.

Too true. But I couldn’t get that poor woman out of my mind. Was it possible to make a tasty, savory soup with no onions, no leeks, no shallots? The rustic garlic soup I used to eat in Spain came back to me, and I started thinking about creamy potato and roasted garlic soup, about roasted garlic and sauteed garlic, about garlic soup served with garlic toasts.

Here’s the creamy potato and roasted garlic soup I made for Alev, the lonely, onion-deprived Turkish writer: a creamy purée of roasted garlic with two kinds of potato, and floating in it dark green pieces of kale that had been sauteed with even more garlic.—Anna Thomas

convert Ingredients
1 large head garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for roasting the garlic
1 large russet potato
1 large sweet potato
3 large stalks celery
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups whole milk
2 to 3 cups vegetable broth with no onions
6 to 7 ounces Russian kale, or other kale
1 Tbs. finely chopped garlic

Garlic crostini, for garnish

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Method
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

2. Peel the loose outer husk off the head of garlic, slice off a tiny bit of the top, place the garlic on a square of aluminum foil, and drizzle a little olive oil over it. Fold the foil up and crimp to seal it. Roast the garlic for about 40 minutes, or until it gives when pressed. Allow it to cool.

3. Meanwhile, peel and dice the potatoes, cut the celery into small dice, and combine the vegetables in a soup pot with 3 cups (750 ml) cold water. Add the thyme, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, some black pepper, and a large pinch of red pepper flakes. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are completely soft.

4. When the garlic is ready, squeeze the soft roasted cloves out of their skins and add them to the soup. Stir in the milk and puree the soup in a blender, in batches, or with an immersion blender, but be careful not to overprocess. Stop the moment the vegetables are smooth, or the potatoes could turn gummy.

5. Return the soup to the pot, and stir in enough vegetable broth to give the soup the consistency you like. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed.

6. Trim the kale, slicing away the tough stems, and cut it into 1-inch squares. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick pan and stir the chopped garlic in it for a minute or two, just until it begins to color. Add the kale and saute it, stirring constantly at first, then frequently, until it thoroughly wilts. Add a splash of water—just a few tablespoons—then cover the pan and let the kale steam until the water is gone and the kale is tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir the kale into the soup.

7. Drizzle about a teaspoon of the remaining olive oil over each serving of soup and serve with Parmesan or garlic crostini. If reheating, do it gently, and stir the soup from time to time to prevent scorching.

Another way: Add a little cream in place of some of the milk if you want a richer soup, or stir in some creamy goat cheese and let it melt into the soup just before serving.

Recipe © 2009 Anna Thomas. All rights reserved.