Curried Carrot Soup

I adore soup; to me it is the ultimate one dish meal. There is something cozy about soup in the winter. You can hold the bowl and the warmth is so reassuring that the unforgiving cold outside is just outside, because inside the bowl is what I love best about winter; foiling it. I like the howl of the wind outside when I am ladling spoonful of comfort from the cold to my lips. My boys have their limits on how much of this winter remedy they are willing to tolerate. Three soup weeks are pushing it, so often we settle comfortably around one and half to two. Unless of course it is really howling outside.

I made this last week and loved it.  The recipe is also flexible in the best way. I had some leftover roasted cauliflower and potatoes so I tossed those in before I pureed the soup. Fantastic. I was also out of celery, didn't even miss it. I figured the mire-poix equivalent in Indian food doesn't include celery and so instead I began with a saute of onion, one tablespoon of fresh ginger instead of the one teaspoon of dried and two cloves of garlic and I went with the optional coconut milk. I don't think I would forgo it, it is really fantastic in soup.  Make it as written or with my adjustments, it is a fantastic soup and the perfect counter act to 25 degrees and gusty wind outside. Check in tomorrow and I post what I served with it.

Curried Carrot Soup

original recipe by Art Smith

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion , chopped

1 rib celery , chopped

1 clove garlic , chopped

2 pounds carrots , scrubbed but unpeeled, cut into ½-inch thick rounds

1 tablespoon Madras-style curry powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt or light coconut milk , optional

Salt and freshly ground pepper , to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and stir well. Stir in the curry powder and ginger and cook, stirring almost constantly, for 30 seconds.

Add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the pot. Simmer until the carrots are very tender, about 30 minutes.

In batches, transfer the soup to a blender, process until smooth and pour the puréed soup into a large bowl. (If you have an immersible hand blender, you can purée the soup right in the pot.) Return the puréed soup to the pot. If desired, stir in the yogurt or coconut milk and stir over low heat just until the soup is very hot; do not simmer. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Serve hot.