I made this carrot soup recently when I was feeling the shift into summer and wanting a filling but lighter, primarily vegetable dinner option. I was in the mood for something that tasted clean, the kind of soup you’d get at a spa. So many soups were created out of making a lot from a few ingredients, so soup is the perfect format for making something delicious out of a few simple ingredients. I used kelp seaweed, which adds a lot of nutrition in mineral content and iodine, and with its fiber, protein and healthy carbohydrates, feels filling without a lot of calories. Aromatic celery seed and cumin add flavor and aid digestion. It tasted even better the next day after the flavors had time to infuse.
Summer Carrot Soup
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups organic carrots, washed well, rough chopped
2 cups yellow onion, rough chopped
2 large pieces dried kelp
2 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper
Water to cover generously, about 3 quarts.
[with olive oil and more salt to be added later- see below for amounts]
PROCEDURE:
In a large stockpot, combine above ingredients.
Bring to boil and then, turn heat down to a simmer, cooking until the carrots are cooked through.
Turn off heat and let cool two to three hours.*(See Note)
Blend in stages in blender or vitamix, recombining to mix all together in one big pot or bowl.
In each blender I added a dash of olive oil** (See Note) and a pinch of salt, which totaled:
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil, or more to taste
When all the soup has been blended, adjust final seasoning with olive oil, salt, pepper, or other spices of choice.
Makes 5-6 quarts soup
I don’t make small batches! Is that too much soup? Cut the recipe in half, or make all of it and freeze or share some.
Not a big fan of cumin or celery seed? Substitute spices of your choice. Make it your own version.
Tasty with bread or croutons, a drizzle of finishing oil like hazelnut or pumpkin seed, or dulse flakes.
ENJOY!
*Note: if you’re using a glass blender, there’s less drawback to blending while soup is hot. If using a vitamix, I prefer to wait longer while keeping in mind sanitation guidelines to store food within four hours of cooking. Consider cooling uncovered or spreading the soup’s volume out in multiple pots or containers to increase cooling speed.
**Note: blending some olive oil with each batch makes a soup with a better texture due to the emulsification of the oil. Alternately, one could add oil in one addition and then vigorously blend that with the rest of the soup. I prefer the “a little as you go” method, as I think it produces a better quality, more consistent soup, but if you do the other method well, it could also yield a good result.