As for this month's recipe, soup is in order now that the days are getting nippier! This soup has long been a favorite of mine. I made it again this year for our Rosh Hashana dinner. It follows the recipe for Cream of Carrot Soup in Julia Child's classic The Way To Cook. It's easy to make and requires only a
few ingredients. Thus I have often resorted to making it when I had guests coming and didn't have much time to plan a menu. I used to make it with baby carrots as we tend to have those in the fridge, and also to save myself from having to peel and chop big carrots.
This time, however, I bought big, fat carrots at the produce store. I think it made a huge difference in flavor! I felt like I could taste the marrow of those big carrots in the soup! And peeling and chopping them wasn't that much more work. The soup tasted so very much of carrots, I hardly had to add salt or pepper.
One caveat if you want to make this soup: You do need to have a blender that can handle hot liquids, unless you have the time to let it cool before pureeing it.
Carrot Soup
6 to 8 large carrots
1 large diced yellow onion
2 tbsp. butter (or oil if you need the soup to not be diary)
7 to 8 cups of chicken broth (I use a mix and boiling water.)
1/2 cup white rice
salt and white pepper to taste
Trim and peel the carrots and cut them into 1/2 inch chunks.
In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onions and carrots. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Then add the rice and 7 cups of the broth. Simmer until the rice is cooked and the carrots are soft, about 20 minutes. You should be able to easily poke a fork through a chunk of carrot. Puree the soup in a blender, then return it to the pot. If it is a bit too thick, add
more broth to get the right consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
As with all soups, this one tastes even better the second day, when its flavors had time to mingle.
I find this recipe yields at least 8 servings.
