Sweet Carrot Soup

Carrots

Did you know that have the highest content of beta carotene (vitamin A) of all vegetable? Or that there is as much calcium in 9 carrots as there is in a glass (250ml) of whole milk? I love carrots. In fact, we go through a behemoth bag of them about every week and a half. I love to sprinkle a little bit of Jonny's seasoned salt on them as a crunchy filling snack. Anyway, one of our favorite carrot dishes (be prepared to enjoy many more carrot dishes in the future) is a simple sweet carrot soup. There are some variations to change it up a bit, but otherwise what makes this soup so delicious is the simplicity of the flavors and the wonderful velvety texture. Yum.

Start out by dicing about a cup's worth of an onion

Meanwhile, warm up about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once warm, toss in the onions on medium heat. Saute until they start to become tender.

Now, lower your heat and drizzle in 2 tablespoons honey and a dash of salt. Let simmer for roughly 5 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse and chop up 3 cups carrots.

Once your carrots are chopped and the honey and onions have simmered for a few minutes, pour in 2 1/2 cups chicken broth and the carrots. Raise burner temperature to high and bring broth to a boil. Cover then lower heat to a med/high. Simmer for a good 25-35 minutes to allow carrots to soften. While we are waiting for the carrots to cook here's a little bit of carrot humor for ya.

One day two carrots, who were best friends, were walking together down the street. They stepped off the curb and a speeding car came around the corner and ran one of them over.

The uninjured carrot called 911 and helped his injured friend as best he was able. The injured carrot was taken to emergency at the hospital and rushed into surgery.

After a long and agonizing wait, the doctor finally appeared. He told the uninjured carrot, "I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that your friend is going to pull through."

"The bad news is that he's going to be a vegetable for the rest of his life".

Hehehehehe ;)

Ok, so once your carrots have simmered and are nice and soft. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then pour into a blender. Puree the soup until it is nice and velvety. 

Serve with sour cream, greek yogurt, cream, or toss in a pad of butter (it's an amazing combo, let me tell you). A variation is if you want a curried kick, stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and 1 teaspoon coriander.

Recipe:

1 cup onion diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

3 cups chopped carrots

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

S&P to taste

On medium heat saute the onion with the olive oil for at least 5 minutes or until onion starts to become tender. Drizzle in the honey and add a dash of salt and simmer for another couple minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and carrots and raise burner temperature to high to bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, lower heat to medium/high, then allow to simmer rapidly for at least 25-35 minutes. Once the carrots are tender remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Puree in a blender then transfer back into the pot for easier serving. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with sour cream, Greek yogurt, or a pad of butter. Can add 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder and 1 teaspoon coriander for a curried kick.