Orange and Ginger Carrot Soup
Today is my 37th wedding anniversary and it has me reminiscing about a lot of things, not the least of which is the fact that my husband left his home and family in France to come to the US to marry me. I guess you could say that’s a pretty big deal, but I think we can all agree it has worked out rather well.
In leaving behind a country, of course, a person leaves an entire way of life – sights, sounds, smells, tastes. Being French, food has always been an enormous part of his life, particularly as my mother-in-law is a truly amazing cook. If you have ever met an old school European mom, you know that they begin thinking about what to make for lunch the second you finish breakfast, and what to cook for dinner the minute lunch is over. So it is with my mother-in-law.
In appreciation for everything he left to be with me, I have always tried to keep up in the food area and over the years, the gap between my cooking skills and those of my mother-in-law has closed significantly (although I still say she edges me out).
In honor of the day, then, I am preparing a special meal that will begin with this orange and ginger carrot soup. I learned the ways of the vegetable puree-type soup from my mother-in-law who makes all sorts of flavors – including carrot. I decided to add my own style and have flavored this with orange and ginger. The result is a hearty, creamy, flavorful soup that works as a meal with a side of bread and cheese, or as a starter for something more.
I like to think of this as the perfect Franco-American combo – kind of like my husband and me.
Orange and Ginger Carrot Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion
- 1 lb carrots
- zest of a medium orange
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients before beginning the cooking.
- Peel and wash the carrots, chopping off and discarding the top and bottom.
- Slice the carrots into thin rounds.
- Finely chop the onion.
- Zest a medium orange.
- Grate 1 tsp of fresh ginger. If you don't have a means to grate it, you can very finely mince 1 tsp instead.
- Melt the 3 tbsp of butter in a Dutch oven.
- Add the carrot slices and the onion and cook over medium high heat until it the veggies begin to get soft, about 5 minutes. Do not brown the vegetables.
- Once the veggies are soft, add 2 cups of vegetable stock, the orange zest, and the ginger. Stir.
- Cook until the veggies are very soft and easily pierced with a fork. This took me about 20 minutes.
- Carefully put the soup into the bowl of a food processor and blend until puréed. If you don't have a food processor, you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender.
- Add 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Mix until smooth. We like this soup to be rather thick, but if you would prefer it to be thinner, feel free to add a bit more cream.
