Carrot is the new pumpkin! Yes I know there’s many of the larger orange orbs around right now in most areas, but please don’t forget the lowly carrot. Carrots deserve your support as they smaller, tasty and more portable! Okay, yes that was weird, but carrots bring out the weirdness in me, maybe it’s all of the vitamins, they give me more energy.

I made this simple soup today with about 15 minutes of hands-on time. For a quick lunch or first course, you can’t go wrong, and the price is right as you can grow the two main ingredients yourself!

The homegrown carrots this year have been amazing… but maybe it’s because I’m used to store bought. Let me tell you… the home grown heirloom varieties are even amazing compared to the organic store-bought carrots. And they are miles away from the sculptured little carrots that come in bags. I started seedlings inside and replanted into pots. Carrots can be good in pots because the soil is finer and more sandy than garden soil, and you can stagger the planting to get more than one crop. Just make sure your carrots have enough room to grow, or you can also plant the short stubby varieties.

Tips for making Carrot Soup

• Use the best carrots that you have available to you, whether that is home grown, farmer’s market or the grocery store. All of the sweetness in this soup come from the carrots and the onions.
• You have the option of adding heavy cream to the soup to make ‘cream of carrot’, adding cultured cream to a single serving, or leaving it out altogether if you are unable to tolerate dairy. It is really good soup all 3 ways!

Carrot Soup

Difficulty:

Easy

Page in NT: 221

Equipment:

Hand Blender
Chef’s Knife
Soup Pot
Microplane Grater (for ginger)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4 tablespoons butter (or ghee)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder (reduce or omit for kids)
• 1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon rind
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• sea salt or fish sauce and pepper
• piima cream, creme fraiche or heavy cream (optional)

Preparation:

Sauté onions and carrots very gently in butter about 45 minutes or until tender. Add curry powder and stir around until well amalgamated. Add stock, bring to a boil and skim. Add lemon rind and ginger. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes. Purée soup with a handheld blender. Season to taste. If you want to make cream of carrot soup, add 1/2 – 1 cup heavy cream, mix and bring up to temperature. Ladle into heated bowls and serve with cultured cream.