Foodstuff: Soup season

It’s officially soup season, my babies!

To celebrate nature’s end of summer vegetal bounty, I was recently invited to a friend’s beautiful garden to pull the last of her “ugly carrots” before the first frost of the year. I find misshapen carrots oddly charming, but if you’re not into serving vegetables that resemble a pair of twisted legs, the best thing to do is blitz them up and pour them hot into a bowl. “Souper” soup is served! 

This carrot soup was something of an experiment, as we wanted to incorporate the lingering onions and garlic from our fall community-support agriculture share, taking advantage of available autumnal produce. In other words, my plus one made up this recipe, as he is wont to do. Fresh ginger added a warming spice, and the dish is also entirely vegan, in case you’re sick of all my talk of murdering chickens.

Carrot soup

Serves four to six

• Two tablespoons olive oil
• One tablespoons salt
• One and a half pounds carrots
• One large yellow onion
• One teaspoon fresh ginger
• Four cups vegetable stock
• Additional salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Chop the carrots into thirds or into large 2-3-inch chunks.

Quarter the onion.

Toss the carrots and onion in with the olive oil and one tablespoon of salt. Place in a large Dutch oven or other pot with a tight-fitting lid, and roast in the preheated oven, covered, for one hour.* While they are roasting, peel and grate the fresh ginger.

Once the vegetables have cooked through, add vegetable stock and ginger, and simmer on medium-low until the stock has slightly reduced and the flavors have melded, approximately 20-30 minutes.

Blend in a blender on high speed until smooth.** Be sure to do this step in batches because if the soup is too hot and the blender too full, then it could overflow.

Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Cook’s notes

*If you’re short on time, you can complete this roasting step the day before. Refrigerate the roasted vegetables, then complete the remaining steps before serving.

**I don’t have a standing blender, but improvisation is easy enough. You can use an immersion blender here, but if you do, you’ll likely have to strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer before serving.

If I’m being honest, I can’t say I’m a person who craves carrot soup, but this was a 10 out of 10 success. Entirely dairy-free, yet totally rich and creamy, it has interesting layers of flavor with the ginger and the bright orange looks beautiful on the table. Serve as-is, or add freshly chopped parsley, carrot top pesto, or a dollop of yogurt on top if you aren’t being strictly vegan. 

This would be an elegant (and easy!) starter if you do a sit-down Thanksgiving, as you can keep it warm on the stove or in a slow cooker until you’re ready to eat, without affecting the taste or texture. The color is fantastic and seasonal — picture-perfect for your guests’ oohs and ahhs and documenting on social media. It also makes abundant leftovers and tastes even better after it’s had time to sit while the flavors make friends with each other. A perfect festive or fall freezer meal!

Katherine Roberts is a mid-valley based writer and marketing professional who has already made so much soup, she’s running low on freezer space. She can be reached via her marketing and communications firm, Carington Creative, at katherine@caringtoncreative.com.