A Bowl of Sunshine

Don't you love it when a kitchen experiment comes up trumps?

A few days ago I mentioned wanting to expand my soup repertoire to include more root vegetables. In pursuit of that lofty ambition, I decided to start with carrot soup. Having searched my small cookbook collection in vain for a suitable recipe (being sadly disappointed by Larousse Gastronomique - I thought that epic volume had a recipe for everything), and being determined not to turn on the computer with its manifold webby temptations, I decided to draw a bow at a venture (or do I mean shoot from the hip?) and come up with something myself. (Dear me, what a rambling sentence that was.)

The resulting concoction was warm, spicy, colourful, and cheering. I shall call it "Sunshine Soup". Here is the loose recipe:

Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/8" slices
Salt and pepper to taste
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1 quart chicken stock (to be divided)
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Heaping 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger (fresh would be even better but I was out)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
Dash of cloves
Nutmeg to taste
1 or 2 red pepper flakes
More salt and pepper to taste
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White wine (optional but recommended)
Heavy Cream (preferably without stabilizers or preservatives)
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Fresh thyme or rosemary for garnish
Sour cream or crème fraïche for garnish (optional)

Heat some olive oil in a heavy pot. Sauté the onion and carrots, with salt and pepper to taste, until onion is soft. Add about half the stock. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until carrots are very tender. Remove from heat and puree, using a blender or an immersion blender. Add rest of stock and spices, with a splash of white wine. Return to heat, cover, and heat through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and enrich with a tablespoon or so of heavy cream. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Garnish each serving with a dusting of fresh herbs, and sour cream or crème fraïche if desired. (Envisioning a lovely dollop of white floating on a sunny sea of orange, I garnished ours with sour cream. It promptly sank, and is therefore invisible in the photos. But it was quite tasty.)

Sunshine Soup with garlic-rosemary focaccia
and spinach salad on the side.

There's nothing like a shot of orange to dispel the kitchen blues.

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