Carrot Soup with Leek, Ginger, and Garlic

April 29, 2011

This puréed soup is easy to make, thick, mild, sweet, and beautiful; it’s good enough for a dinner party.  I discovered it several years ago when I took advantage of the seasonal prices on carrots and bought 10 lbs. worth.  My husband looked askance at the two huge bags and asked, “What are you going to do with all those carrots?” 

That was a good question.  I began to research carrot recipes and discovered many for carrot soup.  I took ideas from several recipes and made a soup using large Spanish onions.  The soup was good but not great.  That’s when I switched to leeks and discovered that they were key to a great flavour.

This soup also appeals to children.  My grandchildren (ages 9-11 when I started making this soup) like this soup best of all the soups I make—even the granddaughter doesn’t like cooked carrots enjoys a bowl of it.

Printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients

• 6-8 cups of carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 3-4 leeks, cleaned and the whites chopped into chunks
• 8-10 cups chicken broth, enough to barely cover the vegetables
• 1½ tbsp. garlic
• 1 tbsp. ginger

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into one large pot.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Lower to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Vegetables should be very tender.
4. Purée with hand blender or in a processor.

 

For Weight Watchers: 0 points on both the Points and PointsPlus plans.