Rosemarried

Posts Tagged carrot

Curried Carrot Soup with Orange and Lemongrass

I’m going off the grid for a few days.

However, I’m not actually going anywhere. I’m staying put for the holidays. My holiday plans include a lot of eating, enjoying a few glasses of good Oregon wine (namely, my favorite Oregon wine: Remy), sleeping in, spending time with family, watching ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ (it’s tradition!), and working on crafty Christmas things.

Oh, and I’m also going to roast a duck.

Why? Because I bought a duck. I bought a duck because I was depressed about the fact that I wasn’t going to have any turkey leftovers (my mom is cooking the turkey this year). But then I saw fresh, whole ducks at the Montavilla Farmer’s Market and they were beautiful and surprisingly affordable. And then it dawned on me: duck leftovers > turkey leftovers. Duck breast and cranberry sandwiches? Yes, please.

Needless to say, I’m pretty excited about four days off.

But, this week can’t be all turkey (or duck!) and cranberries and mashed potatoes. In fact, after days of eating such things I usually feel pretty gross. And when I feel gross, I want to eat something healthy. Something that isn’t heavy, something that is bright and refreshing. This soup is all of that and more.

I must admit, however, that this is not a new post. In fact, Curried Carrot Soup was one of my very first posts. I posted this recipe back in the dark ages of my blog, when I didn’t know how to take a good food photograph to save my life. I’ve grown a bit as a writer and photographer since those early days, and thought this soup deserved a second chance. I make this recipe often, and since I don’t have every recipe committed to memory (shocking, I know!), I have to refer to my own recipe whenever I make this soup. And every time I pull up the recipe, I get annoyed at the photo and how it doesn’t do this soup any justice. So, I decided to take new photos. And I decided to re-post the recipe. It’s an oldie but a goodie, and I highly recommend it.

To the two people who actually remembered that I’ve already posted this recipe, I apologize for the repeat. :)

Curried Carrot Soup with Lemongrass
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 red Thai chili, deseeded and chopped in half
1 tablespoon curry powder (or more!)
8-10 organic carrots, trimmed and sliced
2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and bashed* (*Bashing the stalks brings out the most flavor. Lemongrass can be hard to find in the grocery store, but you can find frozen lemongrass in most Asian food stores.)
2 large strips of orange zest
1 can coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
A few dashes of soy sauce
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add in onion, garlic, ginger, and red chili. Cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat (until soft). If the grated ginger is sticking to the pan too much, add more oil and turn the heat down. Add in curry powder, making sure all ingredients are coated with it. Add in carrots, lemongrass (or lemon zest), orange zest and sautée for a couple minutes.

Next, add in the vegetable stock and coconut milk – ensuring all vegetables are covered in liquid – and cook over high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until the carrots are soft all the way through.

Remove the zest pieces and lemongrass stalks (dont forget this part!) and then use an immersion blender or food processor to blend until the soup is smooth. Once blended, stir in soy sauce and/or salt to taste. Depending on your preferences, you can add more coconut milk or vegetable stock if you find that the soup is too thick.

Spicy Pickled Carrots

As I mentioned earlier, I recently traveled to San Francisco to visit an old friend. We did some sightseeing – and of course, we did some eating – and I think my favorite stop on the whole trip was at Tartine Bakery.

Everything we ordered at Tartine was spot on. The bread pudding was moist, but not soggy. The asparagus monsieur was the happiest of marriages: melty cheese, crunchy bread, and roasted asparagus. My Americano was a thing of perfection.

Its been a few weeks since my trip to SF, and I still catch myself daydreaming about the late afternoon “snack” we had a Tartine.

But you want to know something funny? The one thing that really stuck with me were the side of pickled carrots.

There was just something special about them. I think that part of the reason I loved them so much was the fact that they were unexpected. I didn’t know that when you ordered bready cheesy goodness that it came with a side of house made pickles. Let alone, spicy carrot pickles. They were crunchy and briny – with just the right amount of spice – and were the perfect compliment to an ooey gooey cheesy sandwich. I was in love. Which brings me to the subject of pickles…

If you don’t recall from last summer, I really love pickles. I love eating them, making them, blogging about them, etc. (See exhibits: A, B, C, D). I went a bit pickle crazy last summer, but I finally stopped posting pickle recipes after my sisters begged me to knock it off. Not every shares my obsession for pickles, I suppose.

But, the spicy pickled carrots at Tartine were amazing and they reminded me of how much I love all things pickled. So, then, when I got back home to Portland and saw a bunches of small carrots for sale at the farmer’s market – it seemed like fate. I snatched up bunches of the cute little carrots and took them home to make my very own spicy pickled carrots.

I have no idea how Tartine actually makes their carrot pickles, but I stumbled across Thomas Keller’s recipe for them and figured it would work nicely. I love that Keller adds a bit of curry powder into his pickle brine as it gives the brine a vibrant color, and adds an interesting flavor element. While Keller calls for a fresh jalapeno, I opted to use red pepper flakes as I like the color contrast and how the red pepper flakes stick to the carrot pickles to give an extra punch of spice.

Now, please, I beg of you: come to my house and help me eat some of these carrot pickles. I’ve been eating them like a crazy person and could use a little help. Please and thanks. :)

Spicy Pickled Carrots
(Adapted from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home)

10-15 small carrots (or larger carrots, cut into carrot sticks)
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Wash and trim carrots. If using small whole carrots, scrub, but leave whole.

In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, water, sugar, curry poweder and bay leaf to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and discard bay leaf.

Meanwhile, pack as many carrots (or carrot sticks) as you can into a sterilized jar. Pour chili flakes and mustard seeds into the jar. Pour hot pickling liquid over the carrots, until the jar is full. Seal and refrigerate. Should keep in the fridge for 1 month (or more).