Golden Carrot Ginger Soup

Have you seen such beautiful, colorful carrots before? I saw these in the Farmer's Market last week and could not resist buying them.

When cut open, the red ones look like the orange ones we are used to, but with a dark, red outer layer. The yellow ones are yellow all the way through.  I tried a piece - it tasted pretty similar to normal carrots.  Without an orange one as comparison, I was not sure if I could tell the difference or not.  The red carrots are high in lycopene, just like tomatoes.  The yellow carrots derive their color from xanthophylls, a yellow pigment from the carotenoid group.  All of these carrots are very nutrient rich - just in slightly different ways.

I decided to make carrot ginger soup out of the yellow carrots.  In general, the fall makes me yearn for thick, hot, blended soups made from in-season root vegetables.  This carrot ginger soup is delicious.  The ginger provides a rich backdrop for the sweet carrots and sauteed shallots.  It totally warms the soul on a cool, autumn evening.

Of course, you can use regularly carrots and onions to make this dish and it will taste just as good.  I just happened to have these colorful carrots and shallots on hand.

Ginger Carrot Soup
serves 2 (total time: 45 minutes)
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Ingredients
1 T butter
5 small shallots (can substitute with 1 onion), peeled and chopped
3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 pound carrots, sliced
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Saute shallots in butter and cook, over medium high heat, until the shallots are translucent and limp.

Step 2: Add broth, carrots, and grated ginger.

Step 3: Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until carrots are soft and tender when pierced (about 20-25 minutes).

Step 4: Remove from heat. I used my trusty immersion blender (for a picture of the immersion blending process, check out this post). You can also blend in batches with a blender.  Be careful not to fill the blender up too high, otherwise the hot liquid may splatter.  Puree to your desired consistency.

Step 5: Return to the pan (if using a blender), and add 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!