(*Reader Recipe)
My great friend Susan, who was supporter of this blog before it was a blog, brought this gorgeous and absolutely delicious soup to The Second Unconfidential Cooks’ Dinner. All my friends from The First Unconfidential Cooks’ Dinner came, and on this night they, in turn, invited new friends…and true to form, everyone—friends and friends of friends—brought a dish and its recipe. It was a great night with great food starting with this soup (even Bruce, who’s never met a carrot soup he’s liked, loved it!). The recipe comes from the Moosewood Cookbook—Susan went to college at SUNY in upstate New York, very close to Cornell and Ithica where the Moosewood Cafe was born, and bred really healthy, good-for-you fare long before that was the pc thing to offer. Susan says she’s been making it for, well, decades (but, since we’re the same age I can tell you…not that many).
In the book, there are three seasoning variations to choose among, and she chose the ginger version….
(4 to 5 servings)
2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cups stock (Susan used homemade vegetable stock)
1 1/2 t. salt
1 cup chopped onion
1 to 2 cloves chopped garlic
4 T butter or olive oil
Pinch of salt
1 cup half and half
1 t. grated fresh ginger root
Toasted nuts or sour cream/creme fraiche/yogurt for garnish
Bring carrots, stock and salt to a boil. Cover and simmer 12 to 15 mnutes. Let cool to room temperature.
Sauté onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons of butter or olive oil with a pinch of salt, until onions are clear. (The recipe calls for adding one-third cup chopped cashews or almonds at this point but Susan omits, and says she’s never added them.)
In another pan, sauté ginger in remaining tablespoon of butter, and add to carrot mixture along with the onion-garlic mixture. Purée until smooth in a blender, then return to the pot. Whisk in the half and half. You can serve the soup chilled or hot…but heat slowly, stirring frequently and be careful not to let it boil. Garnish with toasted nuts or a dollop of sour cream/creme fraiche/yogurt.
Other Recipes from Susan
Orecciette Salad with Asparagus, Proscuitto and Ricotta Salata
The color is just beautiful and wow I’m sure the taste is yummy.
By: noble pig on April 30, 2009
at 9:38 pm
Lovely soup with lovely flavours! I have allways been a fan of carrots & ginger: they pair well together!
Yummie!!
By: Sophie on May 1, 2009
at 12:55 am
I love the fresh color of this soup! Definitely will be great with a good dollop of yogurt. I think I could even add some different spices to this to get a whole new spin!
By: burpexcuzme on May 1, 2009
at 1:47 am
That soup looks so perfectly smooth and creamy – I bet it is sooo good! I’ve been meaning to make a soup like this with ginger for my daughter for a while. Thanks for a great recipe!
By: 5 Star Foodie on May 1, 2009
at 4:07 am
I am so sure this tastes terrific, I am bookmarking this. The color is gorgeous. I have everything on hand to try this!!
By: Donna on May 1, 2009
at 4:57 am
What a great recipe. Love soup. Ginger with carrots is a winner. Thanks for visiting my site.
By: Judy on May 1, 2009
at 5:41 am
For some odd reason I have been craving carrots lately and this looks incredible! I like your photo and love the texture of the soup. Yum.
By: Phoo-D on May 1, 2009
at 8:03 am
What a very tasty recipe! Lovely flavors and such a creamy and gorgeous soup!
By: Reeni on May 1, 2009
at 8:09 am
This carrot soup really look delicious and creamy Catherine!
By: elra on May 1, 2009
at 3:11 pm
So pretty. I love the idea of the ginger. Such a nice recipe – going to try this – I have gone into carrot mode these days. I just grate them and toss with oil and vinegar and eat for lunch.
By: Claudia Haas on May 1, 2009
at 4:52 pm
I love carrot soup. This one is so vibrant.
By: Hélène on May 2, 2009
at 12:30 pm
I’d like to make this but just wondering what the cup of half and half is. This may be a well-known thing in the States, but I am scratching my head here in New Zealand lol.
I love soups more than any other food, I think, and can never get enough new recipes to try.
By: Lynne on August 10, 2009
at 1:08 am
Thanks for all your comments–Half and half is half cream/half milk….
By: unconfidentialcook on August 10, 2009
at 6:47 am
i just had carrot soup the other day and i LOVED it. i’m so gonna try this recipe out! thank you so much!
By: Hannah {thepastrykook} on September 17, 2010
at 1:53 am