Spicy Carrot Ginger Soup

This soup is very tasty, healthy, and a great way to use up excess carrots. Seriously, there is a half pound of carrots in every bowl! And it's not really spicy, but it definitely has more going on than regular carrot ginger soup.

I have an updated version of this recipe with more pictures and a few modifications.

1.5 oz. unsalted butter (3 tbsp.) (can substitute olive oil) 6.7 oz. yellow onion, chopped (1 onion) 0.8 oz. ginger, finely chopped (a little more than 1/8 cup; can use more if desired) 0.3 oz. garlic, minced (2 cloves) 4 oz. white wine 28 oz. chicken stock (can substitute vegetable stock) 24 oz. carrots, peeled and diced 1 tbsp. Thai red curry paste salt fresh ground black pepper dash of cayenne pepper

Heat a large pot over medium heat 3 tbsp. unsalted butter. Add the onions and garlic and heat for several minutes until translucent.

Add the ginger and cook for a few more minutes.

Increase the heat to high and add the white wine. Boil for a few minutes to reduce the wine slightly and boil off the alcohol.

Add the chicken stock and carrots and bring back to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms on top of the liquid and discard. The soup is quite thick when done, yet it has no thickener other than carrots. You could add more stock to stretch it and make a thinner soup.

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the carrots are tender.

When done, add the Thai red curry paste. I use Thai Kitchen which just contains red chili pepper, garlic, lemongrass, galangal (Thai ginger), salt, spices, and kaffir lime. It's vegan (and gluten-free), too.

Purée the soup using a blender or food processor in batches. Transfer to a large bowl to adjust the seasoning. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.

Makes 3 12 oz. servings. Easily doubles.

I make my own chicken stock when I roast chicken and freeze it for recipes like this.

You could also use vegetable stock to make a vegetarian or vegan (replace the butter with oil, of course) version of this soup. And it should be gluten free. And lactose free if you substitute for the butter. We can accommodate almost any food choice or allergy with this recipe!

More or less based on this recipe , scaled and some of the preparation steps modified. The original recipe called for curry powder, which curiously I did not have so I substituted some Thai red curry paste.

This soups also freezes well. I like to vacuum seal it and reheat it by bringing a pot of water to a boil, adding the frozen bag, bringing back to a boil, reducing the heat to simmer, and simmering, covered, for 20 minutes.

Served with a salad of mixed greens, carrots, and cucumber (from CSA Week #5 ), celery, Annie's Naturals Green Goddess dressing, and Olivia's garlic and herb croutons.

Also, a slice of Red Hen Bakery Ciabatta bread with olive oil. And a glass of Crossroads Winery 2008 Marlborough (New Zealand) Sauvignon Blanc.

I made this soup again , using 32 oz. of vegetable broth and it was delicious, and also made four servings instead of 3.