A few weeks ago, we Portlanders were prematurely visited by summer. It was warm and sunny and glorious. Now our days are dark, we are experiencing biblical rain and we have lapsed back into muddy winter weather.
I have tasted the fruits of summer and I am not a happy camper.
Alas, given that I have no choice in the matter, I guess I’ll just have to adapt. And continue eating soup.
Curried Carrot Soup
This soup is invigorating, satisfying and a delight to sniff. To smell, I mean. Lovely as it is, I would not recommend ingesting this soup through the nose.
2 tbsp. olive oil
small onion, diced
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 inch ginger, minced
2 lbs. carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. curry powder
5 cups water
1/8-1/4 teas. cayenne, to taste (remember, the heat will increase as it sits and the flavor sets up, so it’s best to start small and increase in tinny, little increments)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (can use low fat, if desired)
1 teas. cinnamon
raisins to garnish
In a large stockpot, heat oil. Add onion and saute for about 2 minutes, until it begins to soften. Add salt ginger and continue sauteing until onions and ginger are soft and fragrant. Add curry powder and stir to coat onion/ginger mixture. Add carrots, water and cayenne. Bring mixture to a low boil than lower temperature and simmer mixture with a lid, stirring often, until carrots are tender and break apart easily with a fork, about 25 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, or in batches in a standing blender, puree soup mixture. Return to stockpot, if using standing blender, and add coconut milk and cinnamon. Mix to combine and let coconut milk heat through. Serve soup with raisins for a delicious flavor contrast.
Serves 5-6.
Sorry about the weather!! I would be pissed too. It’s like 90-something degrees in Memphis today, so going back to winter weather would be a very unwelcome shock to the system. Thank goddess for soup.
I love soup, and one that looks as delicious as this one would be most welcome year round around here!
We’ve had pretty weird variations in temperature over here too. Hopefully, nicer weather will come back soon to Portland – and as sincerely as I’m wishing this for you, I must admit that my wish is a tad selfish, too, as I’ll be flying to Portland pretty soon… 🙂
Watched Dr. Oz a couple weeks ago—in a segment on memory, the benefits of turmeric (one key ingredient in curry powder) were highlighted!! Apparently, in India where curry is a daily menu item, the incidence of Alzheimer’s is quite low.
Looks like I’ll be sucking down this soup on a VERY regular basis. 🙂
I was anxious to try this, so I proceeded despite not having all the real ingredients. No ginger or coconut milk, so I used almond milk and extra cayenne. Yum! (though my moustache caught fire a couple times–but in a good way.)
Excellent! It’s a very versatile recipe, for sure.
I passed the recipe along to someone I work with. I mentioned that it could be the base for a variety of dishes—served on rice maybe or garbanzos added to it. I confess a weakness for curry & garbanzos.
Mmm… yes, we often eat it over rice or quinoa. I think I made it over wild rice once before, too.