Carrot ginger soup

Contributed by Preston Maring, MD


Carrot ginger soup

Looking around for a recipe for carrot ginger soup reconfirmed that it is usually possible to find a version that suits your dietary preferences. First I found recipes that started with a stick of butter and finished with a cup of heavy cream. No doubt the soup would have tasted good, but I just couldn't make it that way knowing the importance of moving to more of a plant based diet.

This version, from the Whole Foods website, uses no fat at all thus the calorie count is very low per serving. It is maybe the simplest soup I have ever made and deemed tasty by four other people (I made a double batch and froze half for later use).

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
  • 1 pound carrots, scrubbed and coarsely chopped (as mentioned before, I don't bother peeling them)
  • 1 medium Yukon gold potato, cut into 1-inch chunks (again, we eat the peels on roasted potatoes so I just cut the potato up)
  • Couple squeezes of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives for garnish

Directions

  1. Bring 1/2 cup vegetable broth to a boil in a medium sauce pan, add the onion and garlic, and simmer for about 6 minutes. 
  2. Add the rest of the broth, ginger, carrots, and potato, bring to a boil then simmer for about 25 minutes until the veggies are very tender. 
  3. Using a blender, puree the soup in batches being careful to remove the center insert in the top to let the steam escape. If you don't do this, the top could pop off spraying hot soup all over the place. I did this once years ago. 
  4. Ladle into bowls, stir in a little fresh lemon juice, season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and garnish with snipped chives.