Carrot Ginger Soup

So it’s going to be just us here for Easter, and we’ve been thinking about what we’ll have for dinner that will be properly celebratory, isn’t a pain in the butt to fix or clean up, serves just the two of us, and tastes great. It’ll be a big little meal!

Andy first suggested that we have rabbit for dinner, but I managed to convince him of the impropriety of that. But I thought that maybe something with carrots seemed appropriate. Carrots and dip? Too much work for just us. Carrot cake? Yum! I have a fabulous recipe for that, should you ever want to try it, but it’s time-consuming to make. Maybe carrot soup? Yes! It’s beautiful, it’s easy; it’s light, healthy, and delicious. You can make it vegetarian (or not) by your choice of broth. It’s gluten free (I think). The ingredients are easy to find. Note: don’t think that you’ll just make half of it, cause it’s just you eating. Fix the full recipe and you’ll have soup left for a lunch next week and some to freeze for another time.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Servings: 4
Time: 45 minutes
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adapted from Sara Deseran’s Asian Vegetables

Ingredients

1/4 c butter (4 T)
1 T minced fresh ginger
4 tsp minced garlic
1 or 2 serrano chilies, seeds and membrane removed and chopped
3 c vegetable broth or chicken broth
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into chunks – about 10 big (not little) ones
1/4 tsp coriander
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 c half and half.

Directions

Using a medium-sized pot over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the ginger, garlic, and chili and cook and stir until the garlic and chili have softened and are fragrant – maybe a minute. Add the broth and chunks of carrot, coriander, and salt; bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until the carrots are very soft – about 25 minutes. Now is the time to use your hand blender, if you have one. We don’t – so we’ll put the carrot mixture into our food processor (a regular blender works here too) and puree it until it’s almost smooth.

At this point take note: if you’re freezing some, put it in your freezer dish now, because it will reheat better if you add the half & half after you defrost it.

Put the rest of the carrot mixture back in the pot, add the half and half, decreasing the amount a little, if you’ve frozen some. Return the soup to a simmer. Put it into bowls and have a HAPPPY EASTER!

Recipe provided by Big Little Meals and Andy and Ann