#RecipeUpTop (details below):
- Four (4) large carrots;
- One (1) tablespoon minced fresh ginger;
- One (1) rib of celery;
- One (1) medium yellow onion;
- One (1) quart of chicken stock, or water;
- Salt (to taste);
- Black pepper (to taste);
- Sugar (to taste):
Method: Sweat the celery and onion, then add the carrots and ginger and cover with stock or water. Simmer until the carrots are tender, then blend and adjust for balance with sugar (if needed), salt, and black pepper.
The Details
Every so often, on a cloudy day at the front-end of a week, Mrs. 10Chickens will descend from her home office mid-morning and mention “vitamins” and “carrots” in the same sentence, and I know that’s my cue to get to work on this soup.
The good new is (like most of our recipes) it’s incredibly simple, and really hits that mark between feel-good and taste-good that can help power through the dullest of drudgery. It also freezes with no perceptible loss of quality, so it’s a favorite to make in bulk and store for that sad, distant day when we don’t have any fresh carrots in the house.
Step one: dice your celery and onion, and get them sweating over low-medium heat with a pinch of salt and a little vegetable oil. The other good news about this soup is it’s a puree, so you don’t need to be particularly finicky about your knife work:
I’ve also minced my ginger here, because why not, but it isn’t going in with the first aromatics; it’ll wait and join the party with the carrots. Speaking of:
Step two: chop your carrots, and add them with the ginger to the pot. As before, you can get away with a rough chop here because these are going to be blended at the end of the day:
Cover with chicken stock, or, if you prefer and want to go the vegan route, water. If you do elect to go vegan, you’re going to need to compensate for the flavor and body that chicken stock brings to the party. My secret suggestion? Add a handful of roasted, salted cashews to the boil. Trust me.
Simmer until the carrots are very tender, approximately half an hour to forty five (45) minutes.
Step four: blend. I do this with an immersion, or “stick,” blender, but you can use a stand-up model as well, just be extremely careful as the contents are incredibly hot. Also, if you’re using a stand-up model, once you hit blend, it’s going to release a ton of steam, which is trouble. The pressure can be explosive, and then you’re dealing with scalding soup spraying around the kitchen. So, if you’re unfamiliar with blending hot stuff, just let this cool for a bit. It’ll heat back up just fine:
Once you have a nice, creamy consistency, give it a taste and adjust for seasoning. Depending on your preference, you’re probably going to want just a little sugar to bring out the sweetness in the carrots, but you really don’t need a ton. They’re plenty sweet on their own. Otherwise, correct for salt, and serve with cracked black pepper and some green onion, if you’re so inclined:
10 Chickens to Maine 