Spring Day Poking Around ... and Carrot Soup

SB and I have had our noses poked in the seed catalogues and gardening books this past week and we've been thinking about vegetable gardens and berries and Springtime yard pursuits! Isn't the change of seasons a motivating time? Yesterday, it was absolutely glorious outside all day. SB raked and I baked. I poked around a bit looking for daffodils and crocus popping through the soil. Then we sat around on the back terrace and caught the first mosquito of the season and laughed over that little bugger. It was a lazy day at the grey cottage.

Come evening, I used some leftover carrots (from the little church's Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner event) and made SB and I a delightful pot of Cream of Carrot Soup. This was a simple uncomplicated affair - onions and garlic sautéed, boiled potatoes, and cooked carrots, a flour and butter roux, and a session in the blender to make a smooth as silk purée. The lot was put back in the pan with some low-fat evaporated milk, chicken broth, white pepper and a bit of smoked paprika. Whisked to a steaming simmer, it was a perfect easy supper. We had some leftover yeast rolls all warm and steamy to dip in the soup ... and I had my cold glass of Sauvignon blanc. Life is good.



I hope your week started out just as fun and restful as ours! If it didn't, there's always tomorrow! Happy Spring!

Cream of Carrot Soup

adapted from Lisa Kivirist's recipe in Farmstead Chef

Ingredients:

1 lb. carrots, peeled sliced and steamed

3 medium potatoes, peeled, chopped, and boiled

1 large onion, peeled and chopped small dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. butter
⅓ c. flour
3 c. chicken broth
1 ¾ c. low fat evaporated milk
¼ c. milk
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp white pepper
⅛ tsp. smoked paprika
salt, to taste

sweet paprika and chopped chives for garnish

Making the Soup:

1. Prepare the potatoes and carrots and pop them into a blender. Drizzle in some of the chicken broth and purée until the vegetables are very smooth.

2. Scald the evaporated milk and milk in a deep saucepan (the one you cooked the potatoes in). Add the puréed vegetables.

3. Sauté the onions in the butter until they soften and glisten. Add the garlic and sauté another few minutes. Add the flour to make a roux of the buttery juices and vegetables. Pour some of the chicken broth in to form a sauce. Turn this into the blender and purée this. Add the rest of the chicken broth to bring the purée away from the sides and bottom of the blender.

4. When the sauce is very smooth, add it to the contents of the soup pot. Whisk everything together to make a soft and silky soup.

5. Add the sugar, white pepper and smoked paprika and bring the pot to a very gentle simmer. Don't boil the soup ... keep a sharp eye on it. Add salt to taste and serve when steaming hot.

6. Garnish bowls of soup with a sprinkling of sweet paprika and chopped chives. Warm rolls for dipping are delicious, also.