Carrot Soup

I've been meaning to make carrot soup for a few weeks now, and I finally had a short Saturday shift, so I was able to come home and get some stuff done (like the carrot soup). It has been simmering on the stove for the last couple of hours and it smells so good! A couple of friends asked for the recipe, so here it is. For my vegetarian/vegan friends, you can replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.

Simple Carrot Soup

2 lbs carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 medium cooking onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 quarts low-sodium chicken stock

Over medium-high heat, bring carrots, onions and one quart of chicken stock to a rolling boil. Cook 5-10 minutes until onions soften. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Test carrots to see if tender. Add ginger and pepper, stir. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid is almost completely gone. Add second quart of chicken stock, and heat through. Using either a stick blender or a Ninja (my baby!), process soup until smooth. Serves 4 as lunch, or 8 as a dinner appetizer.

©2011 Lynne Toll at http://blueceramicmug.blogspot.ca

I use grocery store carrots (sob) for this, but if you want REALLY good soup, buy some at a farmer's market of even better, grow your own! I'm a bit too lazy at this point to make my own chicken stock, so I buy the low-sodium option in tetra packs at the grocery store. If you prefer spicier food, you can use fresh ginger instead of the powder, and if you like milder food, reduce the ginger and black pepper to 1/4 tsp each. This really is the easiest soup in the world. There are very few ingredients, little to no fat (none is added, it's just whatever is in your stock, and if you do vegetable stock, there's no fat at all!), and it really wows your guests as an appetizer, especially if you get fancy and serve it with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche and some freshly snipped chives. It's also a fantastic comfort food you won't feel guilty for indulging in :)

I was a good girl and composted all my carrot peelings and onion skins too! Sadly, I was a lazy blogger and didn't take any pictures of the process, or the finished product LOL That's okay, there are a billion pictures of carrot soup served in pure white bowls (which is what I have anyway) so you can just go look one up :P Let me know if you decide to try it!