Do you want a new soup recipe to make for winter? With just a handful of ingredients and short cook time, a bowl of this creamy and delish delight will warm you from the inside out!

I've been making lots of soups lately, because that's what is comforting in these cool months. Nothing feels better than a tasty bowl of pureed vegetable soup to warm me up. This soup combines fennel, potato and spinach together into a creamy (with no cream if you want) bowl of comfort. Fennel bulbs are sliced and added to chopped potatoes and leeks along with chicken or vegetable stock as the base of this soup.

Once the base is cooked, shredded spinach and fresh dill are added and pureed into this silky smooth lush green soup. The fennel adds a touch of licorice flavor that is tamed once it's cooked. Raw fennel has a much more pronounced licorice flavor. Buttery yellow potatoes add thickness, and the spinach and dill add a fresh garden-like flavor.

You can either use an immersion blender right in the soup pot or a blender. I like the immersion blender for its Seriously Simple step of one-pot clean-up.

Feel free to add a dash or so of cream if you desire although it really doesn't need it. Serve with some crusty bread and a glass of sauvignon blanc for a light and satisfying meal.

Dilled Fennel, Potato and Spinach Soup

SERVINGS: 4

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 medium fennel bulbs, cleaned and sliced
• 2 medium yellow potatoes, chopped
• 1 leek, cleaned and light green and white part, sliced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup cleaned and tightly packed spinach leaves, shredded
• 1/4 cup fresh dill weed, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup cream, optional

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the fennel slices, chopped potatoes and sliced leek. Saute for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add broth and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Remove bay leaves.

3. Add the shredded spinach and 1/4 cup fresh dill weed and cook another 2 minutes or until spinach is just cooked. Place an immersion blender into the soup pot and puree the soup. (You can also do this in batches in the blender.) Add the optional cream if desired.

4. Taste for seasoning and ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with dill sprigs and serve immediately.

(COMMENT, BELOW)