Roasted Fennel Soup with Walnuts

I was disappointed by the color of this soup; it turned out a little murky. I think the culprit was the homemade veggie broth I used, which was dark in color. The roasted fennel brings out some sweetness, and adds a light fennel flavor accented by the walnuts and walnut oil.

Ingredients
1 large fennel bulb, ~ 1.5 lbs worth
1 large leek, chopped, ~ 1.5 cups
1 stalk celery, chopped, ~ 1/2 cup
3 garlic cloves
two medium potatoes, chopped ~ 1.5 cups
4 cups veggie broth or water
1 tbsp olive oil or Earth Balance
pinch of red pepper flakes
walnut oil for drizzling
lightly toasted chopped walnuts
salt and pepper to taste
optional: 1 cup non-dairy milk or Mimic Cream (Mimic Cream is just a combination of almond and cashew cream...use homemade if you have time)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, cut the fennel into quarters, drizzle with walnut oil and bake in oven until tender.

Meanwhile, saute the leek, celery, garlic, and pinch of chili flake in 1 tbsp oil until beginning to tender. Toss in potatoes and veggie broth. Bring to simmer and let cook until potatoes are tender. Roughly chop the roasted fennel and add to soup. Puree in blender. Return to pot, stir in non-dairy milk if using, and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, top with chopped walnuts, drizzle with walnut oil and garnish with fennel sprigs.