Leek and Fennel Chowder with Smoked Salmon

This soup has potential. Following the recipe as written, I found it rather bland and very "white." After having one bowl of it, I actually added the salmon and the fennel greens/scallions mixture right into the soup, rather than just using it as a topping. I added some red pepper flakes, and quite a bit more black pepper than the recipe called for. Not only did that make it quite a bit tastier, it was more appetizing looking with the extra color. Next time I will add red bell pepper in with the leeks and fennel. That will give it more color as well. This recipe makes a LOT. Next time I will add more flour as well, as I think it needs to be a little thicker. With these additions, I ended up with a winner. I think corn would be a tasty addition as well.

I followed the other reviewer's suggestion and added red bell pepper and corn. This was DELICIOUS! I also just mixed in the smoked salmon at the end instead of saving it for topping. I will definitely be making this again. Since it's just the two of us I halved the recipe and we still had plenty of leftovers. I used some canned smoked salmon I had in the cupboard and it was fine.