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Cream of Carrot Soup / Mia / Katie Workman / themom100.com

Humble, bumpy, rough carrots.  We peel and slice them into sticks and stuff them in lunchboxes, or put them out with a dip when company comes.  We chop them and use them in soups and stews, but rarely do we let them star on their own.

This bisque-like soup changes that thinking.  Pretty and lush, infinitely spoonable but with distinct texture, this creamy bowl of deliciousness gives carrots their due respect.

And it’s worth pausing a tic to shake your head at how cheap they usually are–you can do a lot with a pound or two of carrots, and they won’t make much of a dent in our food budgets.

This bisque-like soup is pretty and lush, with a wonderful texture and flavor (and inexpensive and healthy!)

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Healthy Carrot Soup Recipe

Carrots are also seriously nutritious—tons of vitamin A and antioxidants, and an assortment of other vitamins and minerals we all need. But once you start eating, you will not be thinking “boy, this sure is healthy!”, but just surrendering to the velvety texture and round flavor of the soup.

Cream of Carrot Soup / Mia / Katie Workman / themom100.com

Thickening Soup with Rice

The addition of the small amount of white rice simply serves to thicken up the soup once it’s pureed, which lets the carrots and other supporting vegetables hold the spotlight.  However, I did try it with jasmine rice once, and liked the very faint aromatic flavor that this type of grain lent to the mix.

I have to make this sometime with those purple carrots you see at the market sometimes.  I don’t know if the color would fade a lot in the cooking, but I have to check it out — it could be the coolest looking soup (oooh….maybe add some cooked beets to that one? )

And it’s always amazing to me how a small amount of cream added to a soup adds such voluptuousness and rounds out the flavor.  Only skip it if someone has a lactose problem (and then ladle out their portion, and add a bit of cream to the rest).  Don’t tell them what they are missing.

Cream of Carrot Soup / Mia / Katie Workman / themom100.com

More Lush Puréed Soup Recipes:

(Wow, it turns out I really love a good pureed soup….who knew?)

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Cream of Carrot Soup

5 from 1 vote
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8 People
This bisque-like soup is pretty and lush, and gives carrots their due respect.

Ingredients 

  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 pounds carrots peeled and chopped
  • 1 red onion chopped
  • 2 shallots chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • ¼ cup uncooked white rice
  • 7 cups less-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • ½ cup heavy cream

To serve (optional)

  • Crumbled feta goat cheese, or blue cheese
  • Chopped fresh parsley

Instructions 

  • In a large pot or a Dutch oven, sauté the bacon until it is crisp over medium high heat. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate, let cool and drain, and crumble the bacon. Set aside.
  • Pour off all of the bacon fat, then melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, shallots, and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, until the carrots have started to become tender.
  • Add the rice and the chicken broth, turn the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup, covered for 30 to 40 minutes until the vegetables are completely tender and the rice is very soft. Puree the soup in batches in a blender or a food processor, or use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot, until very smooth. Stir in the cream and heat through.
  • Serve the soup hot, topped with the bacon, and a crumble of whatever cheese you like, and some parsley. Give it a final sprinkle of pepper if desired.

Notes

The addition of the small amount of white rice simply serves to thicken up the soup once it’s pureed, which lets the carrots and other supporting vegetables hold the spotlight.  However, I did try it with jasmine rice once, and liked the very faint aromatic flavor that this type of grain lent to the mix.

Nutrition

Calories: 223kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 31mg, Sodium: 221mg, Potassium: 627mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 19207IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 65mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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