Carrot Ginger Soup

Every time we make this soup we wonder why we don't make it more often! It's great for both those warmer end-of-summer days and the chilly fall ones to come. If you can get your hands on local carrots, you should, because they are the star of the dish, after all. And should be easy to come by this time of year. 

This is a great recipe if you happen to have some picky people in your household too. My recovering finicky eater won't touch a chunky soup or stew. A pureed version of the same dish has a much better chance of passing muster. A texture thing, I guess?

With just a handful of ingredients, this soup is simple enough to make on a busy weeknight. Just pair with a grilled cheese or a hearty salad. It's so simple, in fact, that we recall making it in a Kids' Table class a few years back with 7-10 year olds. The plastic top of our blender fell into the soup while the blender was on. While it was disheartening to pitch the whole batch, the kids rolled their sleeves back up and we were able to whip up round two in a jiffy! 

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients

2 T olive oil

1 lb carrots, scrubbed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced

3-4 cups vegetable broth

Salt to taste

Greek-style yogurt for garnish (optional)

Chives or scallions greens for garnish

Directions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté carrots and onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and 1-3 tablespoons minced ginger depending how ginger-y and spicy you would like the soup to be. Sauté for another minute. Add 3 cups vegetable broth. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 10 minutes. (Carrots should break apart when you pierce them with a fork.)

Thinly slice or snip a few chives or scallion greens and set aside for garnish. With a blender or stick blender, puree soup, adding more broth a few tablespoons at a time if soup is too thick. Season to taste with salt. Divide between four bowls. Top each with a dollop of greek-style yogurt or a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with sliced chives or scallion greens.

Makes 4 servings

What kids can do (with appropriate tools and adult supervision)

*Scrub carrots

*Chop vegetables (wavy choppers work great - just be sure to slice onion first and cut carrots in half lengthwise, making sure your child works with the cut side down)

*Mince garlic & ginger (again, wavy choppers are magic here, just peel both first and cut into slices)

*Snip chives or scallion greens

*Taste soup for seasoning

*Garnish