Carrot Soup

Hi all:  here is another winner from my cookbook "Crap, What am I Going to Make for Dinner?"

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I tried to do a fancy design with cream here, but clearly I am NOT a talented barista. Don't laugh!!!(You know those pretty designs they add to the foam on lattes).  I should practice this technique more!!  This may not be pretty, but the taste is very "Michelin star" worthy!!

Anyhow, here is the recipe I developed many years ago but this time I made it super easy.  I wanted to get rid of all the old carrots in my fridge and hate wasting them, so I thought I might make a pot of carrot soup.  Trust me, this is a winner!!

Don't throw away those old, dry baby carrots.  Simply rinse them and put them in a soup.  It is delicious and healthy.

Carrot Soup

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Approx. 4 cups baby carrots (they are already peeled and I didn't even dice them. Use them whole)

1 small red onion - diced

4-5 sachets of OXO chicken bouillon 

2 Bay leaves

Olive oil - 1-2 Tablespoon

Basil - 2-3 Teaspoons (this is the key flavour)

Onion powder - 3-4 pinches

Garlic powder - 3-4 pinches

Salt and Pepper

Cream or milk (optional)

In a large Dutch oven, add some olive oil (approx.1-2 Tablespoons) and brown the onions until golden.

I

Add the bagged baby carrots (rinsed and whole) to the onions. If using large whole carrots, peel and chop them to bite size pieces.

Add 4-5 sachets of chicken bouillon to 4-5 cups of hot water and dissolve. Add the broth to the onions and carrots. Add the basil, bay leaves, salt and pepper, a few pinches of onion and garlic powder to the broth.  Cover and let the broth come to a boil, then reduce to simmer and let the carrots cook until very soft (about 35-50 minutes).  Once the carrots are very soft, remove from heat.

Remove the Bay leaves and blend the broth and carrots with an immersion blender. I placed the Dutch oven in my sink, to avoid splashing all over the entire kitchen.

At this point, you can add a few splashes of milk or cream to make the soup creamier, but you can see that this is really very thick already.  Add some more salt to taste, as I find that this soup does need salt.

As a final garnish, add a splash of milk or cream to the top of the soup bowl before serving, to add a decorative and creamy taste.  As I said, I need to practice this.

Homemade soups are a staple in my house, all year long. I don't get this "new" fad that is showing up in the media, about being green and using up leftovers for meals.  I have been doing that for decades now.  It's called "cooking"!!!  Any fine cook worth their salt, uses up what is leftover from previous meals.  It ain't rocket science.

You will love this soup.  It is indeed a winner.

Enjoy.

Rosie