Carrot soup with ginger

I love the colour of this bright soup. It is also super simple to make but has tremendous flavour. Do not let the simplicity of the soup fool you; it is a flavour bomb.

This soup plays with the sweetness of carrots and nutmeg and the spice of ginger. The flavours complement each other beautifully. The soup should be silky smooth; the texture is quite important. The sweetness and spice are toned with the addition of cream, but to make this soup vegan, avoid the cream and adjust the ginger down a bit. This is a perfect late winter soup for a nice dinner. The soup is heavy enough to be had as a meal, with a slice of toast and cheese.

This was one of my early cookbooks, and I have cooked at least half the recipes from it. The soups are from around the world, including delicious purées like this one and elaborate one-dish meals. This is one of those books that will make you fall in love with soup!

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 celery stalk, chopped finely

2 tablespoons ginger paste

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

5 carrots, about 5 cups, peeled and diced

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

6 cups water or chicken stock

2-3 tablespoons cream + extra for garnish

Heat the butter or olive oil and add the onions and celery. Sautè on low heat until the onions are soft and translucent, but do not let them get any colour.

Add the ginger paste and cook for 1-2 minutes until the ginger is aromatic and no longer smells raw. Add the potato and carrots and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper and give a quick stir.

Add the water, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Cool, add the cream and purèe the soup till very smooth with a hand blender or in a blender. The soup should be quite thick and coat a spoon evenly. Taste and adjust for salt and ginger. The soup should be very smooth in texture and prominently spiced with ginger. To add more ginger, add some more paste and simmer for five more minutes. To make the soup milder, add cream.

Serve hot with a drizzle of cream as garnish.