Curried Ginger Carrot Soup
Happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2016!? We just got back from vacation. I love vacations but I can’t stay in vacation mode too long. By the middle of a vacation, I crave routine and normalcy. I love exploring new places but need to balance that with real life. For the holidays we drove to Big Sky Montana. The drive from Oakland to Big Sky is about 15 hours, give or take. We drove this year so we could bring the dog. So much of our life revolves around that silly dog. But he is worth it - most of the time.
15 hours in a car seems like a long time but it seems to fly by in a quiet dreamlike landscape (full disclosure I only drove there - I hoped a plane to get back to work). The route brings us through the snowy Sierras, down through the gorgeous nothingness that seems to go on for miles throughout Nevada. Up through Idaho and lastly through historic West Yellowstone into Big Sky. Although I don’t want to do it often, I love the act of settling in for a long drive, not fighting it, just enjoying it.
We made it to Big sky and spent a couple days eating, drinking, talking long cold walks with Chumley. Although eating cake for breakfast is really delicious, it was time to get back to reality. I straddle the line between good and bad food both in my personal and professional life and maybe this is a reflection of my age but I crave healthy food. Healthy comfort foods like pho, ramen and soups. Especially when it is cold outside that is all I seem to want to eat - nourishing and warming foods.
Here is one of the soups that I could live on - curried carrot ginger soup. A spicy and fragrant soup filled with carrots, potatoes and chicken stock. My co-worker recently taught me the key to the perfect soup is patience. Sweat your vegetables until they are literally breaking down - low and slow - that is the key. When you do this, you won’t need to add much cream, if any at all.
I could eat this soup breakfast lunch and dinner. One of the best parts are the toppings. Pile on creme fraiche, nuts, herbs and more spices and eat with wild abandon and revel in its nourishment.
Curried Ginger Carrot Soup
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 2” pieces
- 1 large yukon gold potato, cut into 2” pieces
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tsp. curry
- 1” piece fresh ginger, grated
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper
- Garnish with crème fraiche, toasted nuts, cilantro and lime wedges lime
Method:
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion carrots and potato and cook covered stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 15 minutes.Add curry and ginger and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Add 2 cups stock and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes. Using a blender and working in batches, puree the soup on high speed until smooth, 3 to 4 minutes per batch, adding remaining stock as needed. Return soup to pot and place over low heat and reheat to serving temperature. Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish bowls of soup with crème fraiche, toasted nuts, cilantro and lime wedges.