Enjoy this comforting soup in any season! It's a great way to use up extra carrots from the garden during the summer and the rich carrot flavor sings as the majority ingredient. The finished product will mostly account for your veggie servings. We are dealing with some water/broth here so it's OK to weigh out about 50% more than your veggie amount. The milk (depending on how much you use) should only be a couple tablespoons per finished serving.
Enjoy your super dose of beta-carotene and some good leftovers!
Soup
2 medium sized yellow onions large dice
3 pounds (1.25kg) carrots with their tops trimmed and chopped into 3/4 inch (2cm) chunks
5 cloves garlic - peeled and smashed
6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed
1 small handful of fresh dill leaves, chopped
3 cups (700ml) no/low sodium vegetable or chicken broth/stock
1/4 - 1 cup (60-240ml) milk
1/4 teaspoon (1g) black pepper
1/2 teaspoon (1g) cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon (5g) Ras el Hanout
1/2 (1g) teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of salt (if desired)
Garnish
Pickled Shallots
1 small cucumber, trimmed and sliced into matchsticks (julienned!)
Dill sprigs
Sherry vinegar
Olive oil
Pickled Shallots
Peel and slice shallots thinly and break into rings. Put in a bowl or mason jar and cover with sherry vinegar (if you don't have sherry, apple cider vinegar works too). Refrigerate for 30-60 mins. Done!
Sautée onions with spices (minus the thyme and dill) in a small amount of olive oil in a pot large enough for all of the ingredients. When onions are softened and turning translucent add garlic, carrots, thyme, and dill. Stir to combine. Pour in stock. If needed add water until all of the ingredients are just covered.
Bring to a boil then cover and drop to a simmer for 45-60 minutes, until carrots are tender but not mushy. (While simmering this is a great time to grill your protein, prep some other veggies for the week, and prep your garnish and shallots!) Turn off heat, remove cover and allow to cool for a few minutes. Blend soup either in a blender or with an immersion (stick) blender. Once blended until the large chunks are gone add the milk 1/4 cup (60ml) at a time while blending until desired thickness. At this point you could opt to add a pinch of salt to enhance the taste a bit, but don't overdo it! The sherry vinegar will help with seasoning the soup a ton! Blend until silky smooth.
Spoon some into a bowl, add your sliced cucumbers, shallots, dill sprigs, and drizzle a small splash of oil and vinegar on top. Dig in!
Tip: Check out our videos for hints on how to cut your carrots and onions to get the most flavor!
https://kenzai.me/recipes/basics-carrots
https://kenzai.me/recipes/basics-onions
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