gourmet babble

• 1 - 2 poblano peppers, halved, stemmed, and seeded
• 1 - 2 bulbs fennel, thickly sliced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
• 6 - 10 tomatillos, husked (and, optionally, cut in half)
• 2 - 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 - 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy cream (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dried summer savory leaves
• 1/2 - 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried tarragon leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp fresh dill (optional)
• black pepper, to taste

Remove leaves from fennel and reserve. Preheat oven to 350°. Mix oil and vinegar, being sure to blend thoroughly (a fork works well here); coat peppers, fennel, carrot, garlic, and tomatillos with mixture and place in roasting pan. Optionally, grind some pepper over everything. Roast in oven for 30 minutes or until soft. Remove from oven, cover, and let cool. Optionally, remove skins from tomatillos and/or peppers. (It is much easier to remove the skins from the tomatillos if they are cut in half before roasting.)

Put remaining oil & vinegar mixture and butter in pot on medium heat. When butter is melted, add onions and saute for 4 minutes or until translucent. Add mushrooms, tarragon, savory, and thyme to pot; grind on a little fresh pepper if desired (but be aware that the savory will be lending a pepperiness to things, so grind with care). Cook, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mushrooms give off their liquid. Add stock and roasted vegetables; bring to boil for 2 minutes, then reduce heat to low, add bay leaf, fennel, and dill, and let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and discard. Purée and return to heat; stir in cream slowly. Keep warm on minimal heat until ready to serve. Top with fresh ground pepper to taste upon serving.

Notes: Because of a request to make this a non-cream soup, I held the cream back from the main recipe and instead chose to mix a little in per bowl just after dispensing. As a result, the amount of cream I have listed in the recipe is an estimate and might be wildly off. However, having tried it both with and without cream, it definitely is better as a creamed soup. Either way, this soup turned out to not have the world's most appetizing color but is amazingly vibrant and sweet. The texture is a bit rougher than I'd hoped for, but perhaps since I used an older Cuisinart, that's simply the fault of the machine. (I tried to strain it after puréeing and almost nothing went through the sieve, even when pushed with a wooden pounder. I gave that idea up quickly.)