French Lentil Soup experimentation

I've made this recipe with the star anise--Lentil Soup With Fennel and Star Anise--but found it a little hot on the palate for spring, although a little homemade yogurt on the side remedied that. Tonight, I'm going to try substituting fennel seed (in addition to the fennel bulb that's called for) and see how it goes.

Also, this week the grocery store was out of leeks, so I'm going to see if I can get away with endive. 

ETA: stick to the star anise.