Carrot Soup

Although my carrot crop was extremely meager (about 1 pound total, due to faulty watering), I made a soup out of it. It was delicious. This is a modified recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison.

2 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 pound carrots, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
3 Tbsp. white rice
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
salt and pepper
2 cups chicken broth
5 cups water
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
chives for garnish

In a soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, bay leaf, parsley and rice; cook to soften the onion, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the spices, 1/2 tsp. salt, some pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the broth and water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes.

When carrots are tender, remove the bay leaf and puree the soup. (I like it smooth and creamy, so I put it through a food mill after pureeing it to make it silky. You can also separate out half and puree it more coarsely if you like chunks of carrot.)

Return soup to the pot and add cream, then warm to desired temperature. Serve garnished with chives. You can also garnish with an onion relish that contrasts well with the sweet carroty flavor, but I didn't do that this time. Actually I served it with a dollop of whole milk yogurt and left out the cream because I didn't have any, but I prefer it with the cream.

Now I'm dreaming about next year's carrot crop, with purple carrots...