Who knew that living like a French peasant could taste so good? This slow-cooker rustic potato, carrot, and fennel soup will completely satisfy your busy weeknight cravings and still allow you time to have a movie night with your family.
As many of you may have noticed, I have been taking part in a number of new recipe link-ups and food-related groups this year. Not only is it a great way to get my recipes out into the blogosphere but it’s also an incredible way to find renewed inspiration in the kitchen. Let’s face it, if it were up to me, I could happily live on deviled eggs, biscuits, corned beef, and numerous variations of crockpot sauerkraut. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
In order to add a little bit of variety into my life as well as the food B.O.B. Bob and I eat each week, I decided that it was worth it to juggle subscription deadlines in order to experience some new flavors and be more adventurous in the kitchen. The added bonus is that I won’t be the only one to benefit from this branching out, y’all may get some new recipe ideas out of this experience along the way as well.
The newest group that I have decided to take part in is a monthly event entitled Food n’ Flix, wherein you watch a specifically chosen movie and then develop a recipe inspired by its characters, location, or food shown within. January’s flick is French Kiss, the 1995 romantic comedy featuring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. In it, Kate and Luc travel through France attempting to reconnect with Kate’s ex-fiance Charlie, who has fallen in love with a French tart while there on business.
I’m pretty sure that I did in fact see this movie when it was first released, however, I was pleasantly surprised that I had forgotten most of it, so it was almost as if I was watching the movie for the first time. It reminded me of how much I used to love any movie featuring Meg Ryan and that I’m still a little disgustingly creeped out by Kevin Kline. It’s even worse when he’s faking a French accent. Thankfully Ryan’s amusing antics in the movie help to diminish Kline’s complete creep factor.
It was a little hard to get inspired by the food from this movie seeing as the only food shown was pretty much a cheese plate and at one point an entire cart of upturned pastries. So, for my first Food ‘n Flix event, I’m pretty much sharing a recipe that was inspired by my view of what France is all about when it comes to food; fresh root vegetables dug straight from the fields, French seasonings, and a little bit of cream and butter thrown in to pull everything together. For being so uncomplicated and quick to toss together on a weekday morning, this slow-cooker soup is truly fantastic, and thankfully unlike Kevin Kline, not the least bit disturbing.
*Normally Crockpot Monday‘s post is observed on an actual Monday. Due to timeline constraints, this week it is falling on a Sunday. Think of this as a good thing. A very, very, very good thing; now you have the recipe in time to make it on Crockpot Monday. So, don’t forget to pick up the ingredients today when you visit your local market. It will literally take you all of ten minutes to peel, chop, and toss together this recipe Monday morning before heading off to work.
*You can find the recipe roundup from this month’s French Kiss Food n’ Flix by clicking HERE. Make sure to check out some of the great recipes which were inspired by this movie.
Ingredients:
- 3 Medium Red Potatoes, Peeled & Diced
- 4 Large Carrots, Peeled & Diced
- 1 Medium Fennel Bulb, Roughly Chopped
- 4 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Herbs de Provence
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Fleur de Sel
- 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Minced Onion
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Teaspoon Corn Starch
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Tablespoon Salted Butter
Directions:
- Place the potatoes, carrots, fennel, broth, Herbs de Provence, Fleur de Sel, balsamic vinegar, onion, black pepper, and pepper flakes into a crockpot, stir to combine, and then cook on low heat for 8 hours.
- In a small bowl, add a little bit of the cream to the corn starch and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Increase the heat on the crockpot to high.
- Place the corn starch mixture, remaining cream, and butter into the crockpot, stir to combine, and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Suggestions:
- Garnish the soup with fennel fronds before serving.
- Serve this soup with thick slices of crusty bread, preferably a French baguette.
- Feel free to substitute the heavy cream in this recipe with any type of milk or half and half.
- Use vegetable broth in this recipe if you observe Meatless Monday.
Improvements:
- Add celery or fresh onion to this soup.
- Swirl an additional pat of butter into each bowl of soup before serving or top with shredded Gruyère cheese.
- CLICK HERE to check out our many other amazing soup, chili, stew, and chowder recipes.
Ingredients:
- 3 Medium Red Potatoes, Peeled & Diced
- 4 Large Carrots, Peeled & Diced
- 1 Medium Fennel Bulb, Roughly Chopped
- 4 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Herbs de Provence
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Fleur de Sel
- 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Minced Onion
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Teaspoon Corn Starch
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Tablespoon Salted Butter
Directions:
- Place the potatoes, carrots, fennel, broth, Herbs de Provence, Fleur de Sel, balsamic vinegar, onion, black pepper, and pepper flakes into a crockpot, stir to combine, and then cook on low heat for 8 hours.
- In a small bowl, add a little bit of the cream to the corn starch and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Increase the heat on the crockpot to high.
- Place the corn starch mixture, remaining cream, and butter into the crockpot, stir to combine, and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
PIN THIS RECIPE
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
Want to participate in Food ‘n Flix? Drop by the Food n’ Flix site to learn more. You don’t even have to be a food blogger to get in on the fun. Simply check out this month’s featured movie, watch it by yourself or as a family, and then develop a recipe inspired by the characters, scenery, or food portrayed in the flick. Next month’s movie is Pan’s Labrinth for those of you who want to join in on the fun.
Crockpot Monday Link-Up Party #21:
Welcome to the Crockpot Monday Link-Up Party. If you are interested in joining, please use the inlinkz link-up button to add your own original crockpot recipe. It’s just a crockpot, Monday, dinner, and hopefully a whole lotta yummy, uncomplicated, and time-saving scrumptious food. Please follow along at Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck for future Crockpot Monday posts, join our Facebook page, or even get ideas on Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck’s Crockpot Monday Ideas Pinterest page. There’s even a special Crockpot Monday badge you can find HERE if you are interested in joining along.
Crockpot Monday Rules:
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- Please link-up only original crockpot recipes created by you.
- One link-up per person, please.
- Try to visit at least a few other link-ups to leave a few words of thoughtful encouragement. Spread the crockpot love y’all.
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