Carrot Ginger Soup

In addition to being cookie season, tis also the season for coughs, colds and the flu. I succumbed to disease over Thanksgiving weekend, and last Sunday, spent the four five six (!!!) hours of my epic journey back to the city sneezing, coughing and generally feeling like this. (Being forced to sit on a bus in traffic on the Jersey Turnpike while sick is actually a violation of the Geneva Convention.)

After a few too many coworkers gave me the “Jesus, you look awful” treatment on Monday, I ended up leaving work early to rest and make soup. The recipe calls it carrot ginger soup, but I think this is actually magic soup.

The  mixture of onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic is very similar to the flavor base of many of my mom’s curries, so maybe it was the reminder of home-cooked goodness, or maybe it was the fact that carrot and ginger are both good for you, or maybe I wasn’t actually as sick as I was making myself out to be, but I had this soup for dinner on Monday and lunch on Tuesday and by Tuesday evening, I felt a million times better. (I also spent much of Tuesday in bed reading GoT in a Nyquil-fueled haze, so maybe that had something to do with it.)

In any case, this soup is so delicious that even if you’re not sick, you should make it. I was actually very upset when I ran out of leftovers, but it’s so easy that I’ll definitely be making it again. I only wonder what kind of magic it can wield on the not-sick.

Carrot Ginger Soup
Adapted from Bon Appetit

– 1/2 stick (2 ounces) butter*

– 1 large onion, chopped

– 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

– 2 cloves garlic, minced

– 1-1/4 pounds carrots, peeled (or scrubbed, if the skins are thin) and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

– 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

– 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

– 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or water)

– salt and pepper, to taste

*You could easily use oil to make this soup vegan (using vegetable stock, of course).

1) In a large heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter on medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes, until the onions have begun to soften and become translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes.

2) Add the carrots, tomatoes and lemon zest, and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add the stock, then bring to boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot partially and simmer until the carrots are very tender, 15-20 minutes. Cool slightly.

3) Puree the soup in a blender in batches (be very careful here — use a towel to cover the top of the blender and never fill it more than halfway).* Return the soup to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional 7-10 minutes, then serve.

*I used a stick blender; somehow, I have one of those but not a real blender … go figure.