How to make the perfect carrot ginger soup, plus invaluable tips on soup preparation.
Carrots at Staunton Grocery
Carrot Ginger Soup
1 each diced, Spanish onion
1 pound peeled diced, carrots
1 each (thumb sized) peeled, chopped, fresh ginger
6 oz. unsalted butter
6 oz. heavy cream
1 each fresh bay leaf
1 each spring fresh thyme
kosher salt
Heat half the butter in a heavy bottom pot till it starts to foam slightly, then add onions, ginger, herbs and a large pitch of salt.
Cook onions on medium-low heat until they are translucent and completely soft, but with no color. Add carrots and stir to incorporate.
Just barely cover vegetables with room temperature water and bring to a boil. Drop temperature to a simmer and allow to cook until the carrots are soft but not falling apart, approximately 20 minutes.
Add heavy cream and puree with hand blender. While blending add the remaining butter, and season with salt to taste.
Soup Tips
(from the late, great, Chef Marc Fusilier)
1. The key to great soup is all about cutting. Make sure that all of your knife cuts are exactly the same, which will ensure uniform cooking.
2. Take your time! Let your vegetables cook slowly, otherwise they will not develop the desired flavor and your soup will end up tasting flat.
3. For vegetable soups, don’t use stock. When making a pureed vegetable soup a meat stock will only mask the flavors of your farm fresh vegetables, let your vegetable soup taste like vegetables not chicken.
4. Cook until tender. Don’t over cook your soup, I know it seems odd, but you can over cook your soup, only simmer until everything is tender, don’t let it boil until all of the vegetables fall apart.
– From: Soup, The Perfect Meal
– Ian Boden is Owner/Chef at Staunton Grocery. Read more from Chef Ian Boden at The Beat, Virginia Living’s blog.
