Monday, January 24, 2011

Carrot Soup

Carrot Soup

Despite the fact that temperatures in LA have been hovering around 80 degrees for the past two weeks, I find myself craving one thing lately...soup. Last week it was lentil soup and since I had so much success with that particular recipe from 101 Cookbooks, I decided to try another yesterday. At the farmers market I picked up some beautiful Nantes carrots from Capay Organic. I was told that these are a French heirloom variety and sweeter than many other carrots you find at the market.  After a bit of wine at DomaineLA and awesome food from the Manila Machine, this soup was the perfect way to end the weekend. The soup is sweet from the carrots and fresh tasting with a bit of lemon. It takes no time to make and gave me an excuse to use my new immersion blender (I want to blend everything now). I was actually going for a chunkier consistency, but I guess I still have to learn how powerful this blender is. I topped my soup with a few homemade croutons seasoned simply with herbes de Provence. This is a great winter soup recipe that can be changed up with different flavors to make something new and interesting every time. Perhaps next time truffle croutons?


Carrots 1/23/11


Carrot Soup
(Slightly adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 pounds carrots, scrubbed clean and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Coarse sea salt to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the carrots and the water to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the lemon juice.

Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool a bit. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth or until it reaches your desired consistency. Serve warm with a drizzle of olive oil or croutons is desired.

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14 comments:

Olga said...

yum! I really like the addition of lemon juice: must have brightened things up!

Erica said...

LOVE carrot soup. You should try adding a few parsnips too. It does wonders for the flavor. I have an immersion blender and it totally makes me want to blend up all of my soups ;)

marla {Family Fresh Cooking} said...

We love carrot soup over here! Looks like I need to make some asap :)

The Food Librarian said...

looks sooo good!

Lucy Lean said...

just made carrot and ginger soup this weekend - delish looking recipe - how do you get your soup really smooth?

vanillasugarblog said...

did those french carrots actually taste sweeter?
that's a really good photo--it's a lot crisper this time around. new camera?

Joanne said...

Maybe you're craving it out of empathy for us northeasterners who are currently human-sized icicles?

Looks delicious. I need a bowl to slurp on and warm me up.

Amanda said...

So beautiful and so healthy!!! Great recipe!

Diana said...

Immersion blenders are amaaaaaaazing. Just don't try to make pistachio nut butter with it...

May she RIP.

Allison [Haute Box] said...

I just bought an immersion blender. I CANNOT wait to use it!

Banana Wonder said...

Love carrot soup! Just had an Indian version with coriander yogurt from one of the pdx food carts. Wondering where capay farms is - just bought some capay valley cali wine! Mmmm

Duchess said...

I love a good carrot soup!

Gaby said...

I love carrot soup! Make it all the time for work and throw in tons of ginger and garlic!

Michelle @ Taste As You Go said...

Look at the gorgeous color of that soup! Isn't it amazing how something wonderful can come from the simplest of ingredients? You've inspired me to start making soup again. Thanks for sharing!