Carrot Soup

When we woke up this morning, the sky was grey and the air was misty.  As we left church, I told my husband it is a day for soup.

I often keep a bag of carrots in my refrigerator as well as a can (or 5) of diced tomatoes in varying flavors (fire-roasted, with green chiles, etc.) because both are so versatile and keep so well.  I make a variation of this soup quite often, depending on what I have in the fridge at the time.

Don't have celery? Leave it out!  Have some eggplant? Add it in!  Have some chicken stock in the fridge? Add it in!  What about fresh ginger? YUM! Add it!  As long as you keep the onion/garlic/carrot/tomato basics, you can do pretty much anything to this soup and I assure you it will taste delicious.


This is what I did:

Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
2 - 3 stalks celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, sliced into about 4 sections
2 bay leaves
2 stalks of thyme
1 zucchini, chopped
5 or 6 carrots, chopped
Splash of white wine
salt/pepper/cumin
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapeno + 2 cans water
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon chicken bouillon

Saute onion/garlic/celery/jalapeno/bay leaves/thyme in olive oil over medium-low until onion is slightly brown and caramelized.

Add the white wine and let simmer about 2 minutes to burn off any alcohol.  (But if you're like me, the alcohol has been long gone out of your bottle of cooking wine, as I leave mine uncorked on the kitchen counter).

Add the carrots and zucchini and season with salt/pepper/cumin to taste.  Saute a few minutes and add the tomatoes, water and bouillon.

Turn heat to high and bring to a simmer.  Simmer uncovered for 20 - 30 minutes until carrots are as soft as you like (I like mine to have a little bit of firmness).  Remove the bay leaves and thyme sticks (the thyme leaves should have fallen off).  Puree to desired thickness with an immersion blender (or throw into the regular blender if you don't have an immersion blender).

Top with whatever -- sour cream/lime/cilantro/more cumin/hot sauce/fried eggs (yes, seriously -- try it!).  My preferred toppings are all of the above (minus the sour cream to keep it Paleo).  My husband prefers his with a grilled cheese sandwich.

The possibilities are endless.