Cozy Carrot Soup!

These days with lots of time on my hands and the weather still threatening rain I am really into making all kinds of new soups. On Valentine’s Day Marc took me for a very romantic lunch at thsi great French cafe in South Pasadena called Bistro a la Gare. And it really is by the “Gare” or in this case the LA Metro! The place is really charming, my favorite thing about it is the gorgeous wild garden they have growing outside. And, they are located right next to a nursery. Did I mention they also have a gourmet store attached. Baguette for the road! Anyhow we shared a Carrot soup which was so delicious and of course inspired me to try on myself. Talk about recession proof recipe – a couple bags of carrots, a little piece of ginger root, a little squirt of orange and voila, Carrot Ginger Soup! Here is the recipe I modified mine from. I added more carrots and ginger and less cream. You can’t go wrong!

Ginger Carrot Soup
Recipe courtesy Maxine Bonneau

Prep Time:30 minInactive Prep Time:20 minCook Time:45 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
8 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons sweet cream butter
2 onions, peeled and chopped
6 cups chicken broth
2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 cup whipping cream
Salt and white pepper
Sour cream
Parsley sprigs, for garnish
Directions
In a 6-quart pan, over medium high heat, add butter and onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are limp. Add broth, carrots, and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced.

Remove from heat and transfer to a blender. Don’t fill the blender more than half way, do it in batches if you have to. Cover the blender and then hold a kitchen towel over the top of the blender*. Be careful when blending hot liquids as the mixture can spurt out of the blender. Pulse the blender to start it and then puree until smooth. Return to the pan and add cream, stir over high heat until hot. For a smoother flavor bring soup to a boil, add salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with dollop sour cream and parsley sprigs.

What I love about soups: Easy to make, super cheap to make, really delicious, healthy and makes you feel like you are really creating something! No guilt trip after eating soup unless you did eat that entire baguette with it, now that’s another story!!!