Spiced Carrot and Ginger Soup
By: Michellina Jones
Published: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 10:14am

Ingredients




1 large vidalia onion (chopped)
1 3-4 inch knob of fresh peeled ginger (half chopped and half grated)
5 large carrots (chopped)
1 large sweet potato (chopped)
2 little yellow yukon golds (chopped)
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of Hungarian Paprika
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
Olive oil

Preparation

1 In a large stock pot, drizzle a little olive oil to coat the pot, then saute onion on medium/high heat. 2 Saute and stir till golden and translucent, about 15 minutes, then add ginger. In case you are wondering I like to use half grated ginger because I feel that the flavors come across much more intense in this form. 3 Add the turmeric, paprika, chile and ancho powders and stir. Add carrots and potatoes. I continue to saute and stir around the vegetables for about 15-20 minutes to incorporate the flavors with the onion, ginger and spices. After it’s cooked together for a bit I add the stock and water. At that point I’ll add a pinch or two of sea salt (not too much if you are using stock that isn’t low sodium) and a little fresh cracked black pepper. 4 Cover the pot and keep it low/med for about another 40 minutes till vegetables are soft. Turn the heat off and pour in the cream. Use an emulsion blender to blend it all to a smooth consistency. If you do not have an emulsion blender, ladle spoonfuls into a standard blender and blend in batches. 5 Your result should be a thick and velvety soup with a punchy bite of ginger and spice. This makes about 6-8 servings (depending on bowl size). I like to top it with a dollop of plain greek yogurt and a few sprigs of chive.

About

This delicious and light soup will fill you up without weighing you down. Carrots, ginger and spices blended to create a hearty and meal that could easily please the vegetarian and vegan palate as well with the replacement of vegetable stock and removal of heavy cream and yogurt.