Up 'n Atom Carrot Soup

I have been developing a bit of a carrot situation. The farmbox has been loaded with them of late, and I have a glut. I'm not one of those people who dislikes carrots; I use them a lot as a minor ingredient, to sweeten and flavor soups and stews and sauces. And I have been known to munch on them raw, in the style of that prankster hero, Bugs B. But now I'm up to my eyeballs in carrots, so low level sauce usage and the occasional chomp won't put a dent in the backlog.

Two solutions to this problem have come my way. My daughter recommended another fine Suvir Saran
dish. She says that she makes this one regularly, and I tasted it at her house. I think I should make it regularly, too; it is entirely addictive. It is called Stir Fry Carrots with Cumin and Lime. I can't be paraphrasing every recipe in this wonderful book, so I will tell you about my soup instead. Though mellow, it has a little bit of punch , like Bugs himself. It is not made with canned carrots, Up n' Atom or otherwise. In fact, it is pretty hard to imagine that there was ever any point to canning carrots, as they store so well in their natural state. Perhaps my old label was meant for a crate of fresh carrots.

This is a very easy recipe, and as very easy recipes do, it depends on the nicest ingredients. You can certainly make it with a good brand of boxed chicken stock , but it will be lovely if you use homemade stock and good, late-season organically grown fresh carrots. It is adapted from a recipe by Betty Fussell in Home Bistro.

You need:
unsalted butter
6 oz carrots, chopped
a thinly sliced yellow onion
2 tsps finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp fresh semi-hot pepper of your choice, no seeds, or pinch hot pepper flakes, pref aleppo
juice of an orange
2 cups chicken broth, plus extra
fresh cilantro
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In the butter, gently saute carrots, onion,pepper and ginger, until softened, but not browned. Add stock, cover and cook until vegetables are tender. Puree. An immersion blender is easiest, but a regular blender, chinois or food mill will work fine. Juice the orange. Add juice, salt and pepper, and heat to simmer. If you'd like it thicker, cook it down a bit. Thinner? Add more stock. Taste for seasoning, and adjust. Serve, sprinked with chopped cilantro. A sprinkle of smoked spanish paprika or ground chipotle pepper wouldn't hurt. This is good with crispy toasty things. My favorite with it is an open-faced toasted cheees and tomato sandwich, for supper. This serves 2 people.

If you make this on a hot day, it is good chilled. You could blop a bit of greek yogurt on it, in that case. I'd still go for a toasted, crisp side item. It's actually sort of pretty, though not terribly photogenic, as you can see. I do find I have a hard time taking flattering pictures of soup, but I promise that it is quite attractive in real life.

You certainly won't go broke making this; it couldn't be cheaper. A good combination with the easy factor, I think.

Comments

[Wendy]

This sounds wonderful - now that fall has arrived and I feel like cooking again, I'm going to try it - warm I think.

PS - I think the soup would work with or without the potatoes - even if it wasn't as thick it wouldn't matter - the great thing about soup - they are always great and the variations in recipe don't seem to have any consequences the way it does in baking.

[farmgirl]

Hi Lindy,
This soup sounds yum. I have developed some sort of bizarre fear of never having any carrots in the house, so the fridge is usually full of about five or six bags of organic carrots at any given time. I think I just figured out what to do with some of them! Picking up 8 pasture raised chickens today--there's my stock!
P.S. I've always loved that cheerful fruit crate label. I have one kicking around here somewhere. Thanks for the reminder. : )

[LisaSD]

The orange juice is an interesting ingredient. Don't think I've ever seen that called for in carrot soup before. I love soup in the fall!

[farmgirl]

Well, I suppose it serves me right for not planning ahead. I have a huge bowl of homemade stock in the fridge and I bought five pounds of organic carrots and three pounds of organic onions yesterday. I immediately thought of your soup! Too bad I didn't buy any of the other ingredients. : )