In this issue of the soup chronicles, I wanted to try something different. I’m not completely sure what inspired me to try and make carrot soup other than the fact my husband loves carrot juice. I figured If I made it and he loved it, it was a win. Little did I know it was like the championship game victory with play by play action.
When I first started with the idea of the carrot soup I had no intentions of adding basil…in fact I had no direction at all. I bought 1 package of carrots and well that was that. Ha! How naive was I to think all I needed was carrots and broth. I started by peeling my carrots and slicing them into medallions to boil. I figured it would cook much faster this way. I was right only I didn’t have enough carrots…I send husband back to the store to buy more.
Next is where the tricky part came in. With the carrots all boiled and soft how was I to make them into a creamy soup? Due to our move and the uncertainty of living arrangements, I left most of my electrical appliances in storage in the states. That meant I had no blender or hand mixer…what the what? Panic began to set in because I had no idea how I was going to make a creamy soup. What I did next was out of pure desperation. I grabbed my potato masher.
I continued to mash those potatoes thinking of all the gadgets I had in my half unpacked house that could help me make it smooth. My mind wandered to the soup maker I had seen at the local Tesco and how I should have just bought it, then I dawned on me. I had mailed my mini ninja from my office before I left. I started tearing through boxes and I found it! I was saved…well kind of. The ninja only held about 3-4 cups of the carrots at a time. I had to scoop, blend, pour back in the pot and then scoop again. It was a process y’all. Little did I know, this whole ordeal turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I was able to get the soup to the creamy and smooth consistency it should be with a few chunks of carrot here and there. To be honest, it worked out for the best because it added a layer of texture that would not have been there if it were completely smooth. I’m glad I was able to work pull off this soup because it was AMAZING!!! My 7 month old gobbled this soup right up and it was the perfect consistency for her. I even used the fresh basil from my basil plant. Here is the finished product and recipe below (minus the crazy kinks).
3lbs carrots 2 Tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped)
1/4 cup heavy cream 2 Tbsp fresh basil (finely chopped)
32 oz. chicken broth or vegetable broth 2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp sugar
Peel and chop carrots into 1 inch medallions and add to stockpot and boil until soft. Drain carrots and add to blender. Puree until smooth or desired consistency is reached. Add 1 Tbsp of butter to stockpot and melt then add carrots into pot. Let cook 5-10 minutes. Add salt, sugar and 1/4 cup of heavy cream and stir. Add basil and parsley and cook additional 10 minutes.
Makes 6-8 Servings.
*Add additional basil to taste – (I like a lot of basil)
**To make completely vegetarian friendly substitute the chicken broth for vegetable broth**