#carrot soup
This week, I’m going to be recreating a simple carrot and coriander soup that was popular in medieval French cuisine - the simple Potage de Crécy. Although I’m using orange carrots, which were rare in antiquity, carrots, parsnips, or any combination of these would work well here!
In any case, let’s now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Check out my Patreon for some more recipes!
Ingredients (for 2-3 portions)
1 onion (or an equal volume to the amount of carrots) chopped
3 carrots (or an equal volume to the amount of onions) diced
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
ground coriander
500ml stock (e.g. chicken, vegetable, etc.)
Method
1 - Prepare and Cook Onion
To begin with, we need to peel and chop one whole onion. Onions of all kinds were a staple of most cuisines from the neolothic period to modernity, as they’re hardy, filling vegetables that have a multitude of uses. In any case, chop this into fine chunks, so they cook evenly. When this is done, toss some olive oil into a pot, and heat it up over a medium high heat.
When the oil is shimmering, toss a couple of crushed cloves of garlic into the oil, along with your onions. On top of this, sprinkle some salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and some freshly ground coriander. Put all of this back onto a medium high heat for a few minutes while you deal with your carrots.
2 - Prepare and Cook Carrots
Go peel a few carrots - aim for about an equal amount of carrots to onions. When they’re peeled, slice them into discs - making sure they’re all the same size, so they cook evenly. Although orange carrots were fairly rare in antiquity, they’re the dominant strain today. But remember that throwing in some parsnips or heriloom carrots wouldn’t hurt either!
When your carrots are prepared, add them to your onions when the pot smells lovely and fragrant, and the onions have turned translucent. On top of your carrots and onions, pour about 500ml of a soup stock of your choice. I went with chicken stock here, to add a more meaty background taste, but any stock would work well enough here!
3 - Cook
Place your pot over a high heat, and let it come to a boil. When it hits a rolling boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer away for about 30 minutes, or until a knife, when stabbed into a piece of carrot, comes out easily.
Serve up in a bowl of your choice, garnish with a little sprig of parsley or cilantro, and dig in!
The finished soup is rather sweet, thanks to the carrots and onions, and has a lovely zesty taste thanks to the coriander. The broth thickened up nicely, and the carrot chunks softened into a toothsome mouthful.
CARROT SOUP WITH LEMON, TAHINI, AND CRISPED CHICKPEAS
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
From the second this was posted on Smitten Kitchen, I haven’t been able to stop lusting after it. But a stomach bug, work, and laziness got in the way of following through with my desires until tonight. This soup was yummy, light on our weak stomachs, and a nice change from our usual heavy potato soups. I felt it lacked a little flavor punch, and I originally thought this was probably because I don’t have coriander here in Ecuador, which the recipe requires. But then my wonderful friend told me something I truly don’t understand how I never knew. Coriander is cilantro. Wow. Anyway, I would mess around with the final product if you too find something missing – we added sour cream and a lot more salt.
Serves 4, generously
Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds (905 grams) carrots, peeled, diced or thinly sliced
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 regular or 6 small garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon table salt, plus more if needed
- Pinch of Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
Crisped chickpeas
- 1 ¾ cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 15-ounce (425-gram) can, drained, patted dry on paper towels
- 1 generous tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Lemon-tahini topping
- 3 tablespoons tahini paste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Pinch or two of salt
- 2 tablespoons water
Pita wedges, garnish
- A few large pitas, cut into 8 wedges
- Olive oil, to brush pitas
- Za’atar (a Middle Eastern spice-herb blend) or sesame seeds and sea salt to sprinkle
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
Directions:
- Heat two tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper flakes and sauté until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat your oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas with one tablespoon olive oil, salt and cumin until they’re all coated. Spread them on a baking sheet or pan and roast them in the oven until they’re browned and crisp. This can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size and firmness of your chickpeas. Toss them occasionally to make sure they’re toasting evenly.
- Once vegetables have begun to brown, add broth, using it to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cover pot with lid and simmer until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small dish, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, salt and water until smooth with a yogurt-like consistency. If more liquid is needed to thin it, you can add more lemon juice or water, a spoonful at a time, until you get your desired consistency.
- Spread pita wedges on a second baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with za’atar or a combination of sea salt and sesame seeds and toast in oven with chickpeas until brown at edges, about 5 minutes.
- Puree soup in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth. Ladle into bowls. Dollop each with lemon-tahini, sprinkle with crisped chickpeas and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with pita wedges.
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