Step 1

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium. Add the chopped leeks and thyme. Stir and sauté the leeks until they are a bit soft, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped fennel and apples. Stir everything up a bit. Add the turmeric and stir to coat all of the vegetables evenly. Sauté the vegetables until the fennel is starting to soften, another 4 minutes. Add the walnuts and stir them in. Season the whole thing with salt and pepper. Add the vegetable stock and stir.

Step 2

Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until all of the vegetables/apples are very soft, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat. Carefully blend the mixture in batches in an upright blender until totally smooth. Check the soup for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Step 3

Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. Bring the puréed fennel walnut soup to a boil and then serve hot with little drizzles of maple syrup, fresh black pepper, fennel fronds, and more toasted walnuts if you like.