Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Carrot Ginger Soup

Tangy, gingery, and perfect in every way. One slurp and you'll be hooked too!

I found this recipe on my favourite website, epicurious.com, it sounded good but I felt like it needed some tinkering...so here it is!

I think you should try to get your hands on organic ginger, garlic and carrots here as they really give the best flavour but use what you have and perhaps increase the quantities of ginger and garlic if you are using non-organic varieties. You may want to double the recipe as it tastes better the next day!

1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 lbs carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
zest of 1/2 lemon (peeled with peeler, avoid white pith, or grated on microplane)
4 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp honey (or more to taste)
whipping cream, yogurt or sour cream, to garnish

1. Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add onions and saute for a few minutes over medium heat. They should not brown but wilt slightly. Add ginger and garlic and saute for a few more minutes.

2. Add carrots, tomatoes, lemon and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes or until carrots are completely tender. Add honey.

3. Puree with hand blender, or carefully! ladle into blender, to achieve a smooth consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Ladle into bowls and pour a thin stream of cream into the soup and swirl it with a skewer or chopstick. Serve with garlic crostini.