I may be a food blogger and a self-professed foodie, but I’ll be the first to admit that not every meal I make hits it out of the park.

In fact, a lot of what we eat is pretty regular and comforting, but not elaborate.  We eat a ridiculous amount of spinach-feta omelettes.  Not to mention, the more I’ve been experimenting with recipe development, the more abject failures I’ve been generating in the kitchen.  Like the time I made salted caramel pots de creme and shattered a baking dish all over the kitchen and in the pots de creme themselves, and actually had to think long and hard about just how unsafe they were to eat.

(I threw them out.  My heart still hurts a little).

Or there was the experiment in which I decided to a) make sweet potato chips in varying thicknesses and flavours to test their blog-worthiness and b) use my mandoline for the very first time.  Terrifying.

This soup, though.  Oh, this soup.  You know it’s good when you make it twice in one week.  It wasn’t even destined to be a blog post originally, but rather a way to use up some carrots we had in the fridge that we hadn’t managed to juice, as initially intended.  I had some coconut milk and cilantro, and kept adding ingredients and flavours I thought would work well together.

I have to say, there haven’t been too many times where I feel as though I’ve generated a truly complex flavour profile in my  cooking, and certainly not when I’ve developed the recipe myself.  But this soup has brightness and heat and sweetness and depth and warmth and vibrancy.  It is beautiful drizzled with a bit of olive oil and maple syrup, daubed with Greek yogurt and sprinkled with torn cilantro.  

So, you know, not to toot my own horn or anything, but this soup is outstanding.  Stellar.  The Best.

Enjoy!

The Best Carrot Coconut Soup

2014-01-02 03:26:17

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Ingredients

1. 1.5-2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
2. 1 large onion, chopped
3. 2 small apples, peeled and chopped
4. 3 cloves garlic, minced
5. 1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
6. Olive oil for sautéing
7. 1 can coconut milk
8. 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped finely
9. 1 tablespoon cumin
10. 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
11. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
12. Pinch cayenne
13. Dash of cinnamon
14. Pinch of ground cloves and nutmeg
15. Maple syrup, olive oil, fresh cilantro and Greek yogurt for serving

Instructions

1. In a large pot, sauté the onions, garlic and ginger in a splash of olive oil. When they are soft and translucent, add the carrots and apples, and sauté until they begin to soften.
2. Add enough water to just cover the carrots. Toss in the herbs and spices and bring to a boil.
3. When the soup comes to a boil and the carrots are fully cooked, remove from the heat and use an immersion blender or food processor to puree.
4. Pour the blended soup back into the pot and place on the burner. Add the coconut milk, stir, and bring back up to a simmer.
5. Serve.

By Jessie Harrold

Purple House Café https://www.purplehousecafe.com/