December 30, 2011

Carrot Soup



Winter is officially here and by that, I don't mean the actual season (though that is also true). Snow arrived this week, covering the grounds (which means I have to walk through mucky slush) and it's cold out. Like minus 10 degrees C cold. This type of weather is conducive to colds (the malady), which I am suffering from as we speak.

Is it spring yet?



I have been craving for stews and soups like there's no tomorrow. For weeks, I could think of nothing but chili and cornbread and had to make them to squelch the craving.



I saw some beautiful carrots at the farmers' market and knew immediately that they needed to be turned into soup. I wanted a really clean flavour for the soup - sweet and carrot-y, just like the vegetable (no curry powder please) and Heidi came to the rescue. The lemon made the soup a bit too tart for my liking so I stirred in some maple syrup to sweeten it up. Drizzle some olive and sesame oil, throw on some freshly ground black pepper and pair the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich (aged cheddar on a whole wheat sourdough bread). This really hit the spot.




Carrot Soup
Slightly adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 1/4 pounds carrots
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Fine grain sea salt (to taste)
Maple syrup (to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil and toasted sesame oil for a finishing drizzle

Take the tops off the carrots (if they have tops) and give them a good scrub. Cut them into 1-inch segments and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions and carrots and saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to get translucent and the carrots become slightly soft. Add the stock and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender - longer if your carrot pieces ended up larger. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

Puree with a regular blender or hand blender - then stir in the lemon juice. Salt to taste. Keep adding a few pinches at a time until the carrot flavour really pops. If the soup is too tart, add a bit of maple syrup.

Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil and freshly ground pepper.

2 comments:

  1. I've tried the curry carrot soup recipe and not my favourite, not bad, but not my favourite.  Thanks for the maple syrup idea.

    It is indeed soup season.  Next week our soup is sweet potato (from local, organic farm) and almond butter soup!

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  2. I think the sesame oil really takes the carrot soup to another level, so be sure to add that in! 

    Almond butter soup sounds interesting, but I'd love to hear how your sweet potato soup turns out. 

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