With winter weather basically upon us, its time to start getting into soup & stew mode. So while cooking for a wedding rehearsal dinner last year with JRR & Nook, one of the items that we made was a cream of carrot soup recipe that I found in an old issue of Food & Wine magazine. At first glance the recipe appears to be super easy to make (with only 8 main ingredients), and it also appears that it would be a good base recipe for any kind of cream of vegetable soup, such as broccoli or cauliflower soup. So lets dig in.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 quart water
• 2 pounds carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Technique:

In a large pot heated to medium low, combine the butter and olive oil. Add the diced onion and cook until until softened and slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and water along with the carrots and bring to a boil over high heat. Slightly cover and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes (but closer to 60 minutes).

Then with an immersion blender, process the soup in its original cooking pot until smooth. If serving right away, stir in the heavy cream and milk until blended. (see side not below about reheating.) Finally season the soup to taste with kosher salt and black pepper, and serve.

Side notes:
1) As the original recipe states (linked below) and that I can attest too, this soup is a great dish to make ahead of time and reheat. The only change that I made in chilling the soup ahead of time, was to not add the milk/cream before chilling the soup. I added both of those items into the soup, while reheating it on the stove the next day.
2) Also from the original recipe, I didn’t make the scallion & poppy topping. But in making the soup for the rehearsal dinner, having the topping available just wasn’t an option logistically.
3) I was surprised at how well this soup turned out, for having so few ingredients. But this was one of those cases were “less, was more”, so to speak.
4) Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of the soup when I was making it, or when it was served. But there is a lovely photo of the soup in the link below, for those curious about how the final product looks.

Links:
Food & Wine Magazine – Creamy Carrot Soup with Scallions and Poppy Seeds