Soup365 #110: If you carrot all

Most of the soups I make are more or less carefully calibrated to not make a crap-ton. There are only four of us, after all, though Fisher's usually good for three or seven or twenty-eleven helpings, and the last thing I need is miscellaneous soupy odds and ends cluttering up the refrigerator and slowly withering into stink.

Every so often, though, it's nice to make something that serves a Whole Bunch. Not least because that way one can pack up several servings of soup in a handy plastic container and tote them off to a friend who seems in need of soup for one reason or another. Really, it's no more bother to make soup for eight than four. (Except for the peeling/chopping, but that's mostly therapeutic rather than bothersome.)

This one was medium spicy--The Shady Lady says she won't mind. Hope she enjoys eating it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Herbed Carrot Soup with Honey and Nutmeg
Serves eight or so

2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp (or more) minced fresh ginger
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes, or none if your servees object
1 Tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth (chicken broth will taste better)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp honey, or to taste
1 tsp or so nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
Plenty of freshly ground pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Optional, but yummy: plain (preferably whole-milk) yogurt and/or additional fresh thyme for serving

Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, marjoram and thyme; cook, stirring constantly, one minute more.

Add potatoes, carrots, broth and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. (Maybe a little more or less, depending on how finely you've chopped the carrots.)

Using an immersion blender, puree soup in pot. (Or puree it in batches with a blender or food processor. You know the drill.) Return to low heat; whisk in honey, nutmeg, pepper and lemon juice, tasting as you go. You may need to add a bit more salt.

Serve with decorative swirls of yogurt and festive sprinkles of thyme, or without. Lovely with corn muffins.

Image by Flickr user bookgrl. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Comments

[Laura]

Thanks for using my photo! I may have to make that soup...we've got a newborn baby and a lot of carrots to use up and the recipe looks pretty easy! (And tasty!)

[Shady Lady]

OMG! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! This soup was amazing, Molly! I dirtied a ladel for no reason. I should have just poured the whole pot into a bowl because I ended up eating the all of it in one sitting. That was just one serving...right? ;)

[Molly]

Miss Shady, I am so glad you liked it! The only thing more fun than making soup is sharing soup. :)