Through trial and error I have developed a recipe distilled from two original recipes by Guy Fieri and Emeril Legasse. I wanted to put my own spin on certain aspects but have linked to the recipes on the chef's names. I used Guy's for the quantity as instead of a half pound he called for two pounds of carrots, gee, exactly what we sell, at a discount in bags. I skipped the potato in his recipe but used 1/4 cup of ginger, as in Emeril's recipe; well you get the drift. I hope you like it, and vary it according to your own likes and dislikes. The recipe is pretty flexible and forgiving. I put a dollop of cold sour cream on the warm soup just before serving, but Guy's version has an interesting sounding topping** with Pine nuts, Greek yogurt, honey, thyme (go easy here) and pepper. I used 2 cups of clam juice I had frozen from cooking clams a while ago*, to 4 cups of stock; I just don't like tossing out stuff like that; and I'm liable to throw it in any soup or stew.
Ingredients
2 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs olive oil 1 cup diced TSFF Onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced ginger
1 or more Tbs pressed garlic
(prep ahead so that it can sit a while***)
1 or 2 bay leaves - optional
2 pounds TSFF carrots, unpeeled and either chopped or left whole at first.
4-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock*
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
Sour cream or Guy's topping**
Chopped apple - optional
Instructions
Heat, in a 4 quart pot on medium high, the olive oil and butter, add the onion and 1/2 tsp of salt; cook at least until soft and clear. (I caramelized them for the flavor, but this may muddy the color of the soup.)
Add the garlic and ginger, cook, stirring for two more minutes, but don't scorch. You may add a bay leaf or two at this point.
Put all of the carrots in the pot, whole if you don't mind adding a few minutes to the cooking time. Add whatever stock or combination thereof you prefer, bring to a boil, then cover, turn down the heat to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Puree the soup right in the pot if you have an immersion blender, (preferable), which Jeremiah refers to as a "boat motor", or carefully use a blender or food processor in small batches on low, at least to start. One suggestion I want to try is adding some large diced apple into the pot after a few minutes of cooking the carrots.
When serving you may want to add some sour cream or Guy's topping to each bowl, but don't just mix it into the whole batch.
*** Remember Jo Robinson's advice to have your garlic rest after cutting to allow the nutrients to build before introducing it to heat.