Velvety carrot-ginger soup

PREP TIME

12 min

Makes

8 cups (2 L)

* PLUS Cooking time: 35 minutes

Photo, Monica Grabowska/Unsplash.

A colourful bowl of silky-smooth carrot ginger soup sets the mood for a decadent holiday dinner. It’s so rich and velvety your guests may think it’s laden with cream. Not so!

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves
1 large onion
2 tbsp butter , or olive oil
6 large carrots
1 large or 2 small parsnips
1 tsp grated fresh ginger , or 1 1/2 tsp bottled minced ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cups water
2 284-mL cans undiluted chicken broth

Instructions

Coarsely chop garlic and onion. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and stir often until soft, 5 min. Meanwhile, peel carrots and parsnips. Slice into 1/2-inch- (1-cm-) thick rounds. Grate ginger. Add all to onion mixture. Sprinkle with cumin, salt and nutmeg. Stir in water and undiluted chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring often, until vegetables are very tender, 30 minutes.
Ladle about one-third of soup into a food processor. Whirl until puréed, scraping down inside of bowl as needed. If you like your soup with a velvety silken texture, press through a sieve into a clean saucepan. Discard anything that doesn’t pass through sieve. Repeat with remaining soup in 2 more batches. Soup will keep well, covered and refrigerated, at least 5 days or freeze up to 1 month.
When ready to serve, heat soup over medium-high, stirring often until hot. For an hors d¿oeuvre, pour soup into shot glasses or demitasse cups. For a first course, serve in warm bowls. Garnish carrot ginger soup with coleslaw (recipe below) or spoon a little sour cream on top, if you like.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories
46,
Protein
2.3 g,
Carbohydrates
5.1 g,
Fat
2 g,
Fibre
1.1 g,
Sodium
348 mg.

Carrot Coleslaw Garnish

Grate 1 large carrot using large holes on box grater to create long carrot shreds. Finely dice 1 large celery stick. Place carrot and celery in a small bowl with 1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and granulated sugar. Stir in 1 tsp (5 mL) white-wine vinegar. Taste. Add more salt or sugar if needed. Stir in 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh chives. Use right away or cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours.