AKA Carrot-Ginger Soup. The “wouldn’t die” part comes from the fact that there doesn’t seem to anything you can do to harm this soup. I’ve added all sorts of things to the base with excellent results. Staples in our house include baby spinach or grown-up chard, cut up shrimp and whatever else is in the fridge.
Snap peas are usually thought of as spring vegetables. But sometimes when the weather gets cooler in autumn you’ll see a second crop in the market. Add cut-up snaps to this soup (see the photo below) gives fall cooking a little lightness.
Makes about 3 quarts, easily divided in half and frozen
For the base:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped ginger (not sure of this amount)
3 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped
2 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 to 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth (or enough to cover the vegetables)
Salt and pepper
Add-ins
- One 5-ounce package baby spinach
- 1 pound medium (21/25 per pound) shrimp, peeled deveined and cut into bite-size pieces or 2 good-size dry sea scallops per serving*
- Outer layers of fennel bulbs, peeled with a vegetable peeler, diced and cooked slowly in a pan of olive oil until browned
- Snap beans, strung and cut into 1/2-inch lengths or thin string beans/haricots cut into even thinner slices
Make the base: Heat the olive oil and butter in a 4 quart soup pot over medium heat. Add the ginger and stir until fragrant. Stir in the leeks and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir in the carrots, reduce the heat a little and cook, covered, stirring often, until the carrots are softened just a little, about 8 minutes.
Pour in the broth, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Adjust to simmering and cover the pot. Cook until the vegetable are very tender, about 20 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender in batches (be careful, it’s hot!) until smooth and pour it into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. The soup is perfect just like this, with maybe a lemon or orange for squeezing. If you plan to freeze part of the soup, pour it into containers, let them cool a little, then freeze. Always add the stir-ins after defrosting the soup. A 1-quart container of frozen carrot-ginger soup will defrost overnight in the refrigerator. At least defrost enough to slide into a saucepan.
Take whatever portion you’re having now and pour it back into the pan. Bring to a simmer. If using shrimp, stir them and the snap beans/string beans in and cook just until the shrimp are pink throughout, just a few minutes. Stir in the spinach and fennel, if either of those are on your list, cook just until the spinach is wilted and serve.
*If using the dry scallops, pat them extra dry while the soup is simmering. If you want to get a little fancy, sprinkle the scallops with ground cardamom after drying. When the soup is blended, heat a little olive oil in a heavy nonstick pan until very hot. Lay the scallops into the oil (carefully!) and cook until the underside is a rich golden brown. Turn and repeat. Stir the spinach and/or fennel to the soup, if using, and ladle the soups into bowls. Center the scallops in the bowl and serve.