Carrot Ginger Soup

I've been in a soup mood lately.  I think it has to do with this new health kick I've been on. It doesn't really matter why I want it though.  I just need to have soup when the urge hits.

Lucky for me, I had just the solution. Joy the Baker's Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup.  Yes.

Here's something that you probably don't know about me.  I love that carrot ginger dressing that gets slathered over salads at Asian restaurants.  I'm drooling just thinking about it.  I haven't gotten a chance to attempt my own version of that dressing yet, but I was quite excited to focus on a soup with the same flavors.

So simple.  So easy.  So orange.  Another fun fact about me is that I love orange food.  Why?  I don't know.  I can't even figure myself out sometimes.

Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup

slightly adapted from Joy the Baker's Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup

serves ~6

Print Recipe

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons ginger, diced
• 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 4-5 cups diced carrots
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• habanero sauce, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste

1) Heat the olive oil in a large pot, over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute until they are translucent, ~4 minutes.

2) Add the ginger and cook for another 4 minutes.

3) Toss in the coriander and carrots.  Stir to bring all the ingredients together.

4) Add the broth and reduce heat.  Simmer partially covered, or until the carrots are completely softened, ~30 minutes.

5) Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool, ~20 minutes.

6) Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until as smooth as you like it.  You can also blend the soup in batches in a regular blender.

7) Stir in the coconut milk into the soup.  Add habanero sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

8) Serve soup warm.

Trust me when I tell you that you should check the spiciness level of the soup before you add any type of hot sauce or pepper.  I'm used to adding spice all willy nilly since it's hardly ever spicy enough for me.  But I am warning you: Do not sleep on this ginger.  It will add a kick to your soup that you didn't see coming.  I added a touch too much habanero sauce to my soup but since I like the heat, I'm not too upset about this.

This soup was warm, sweet and spicy.  I love the blend of the carrots and the ginger together, just topped off with the smooth coconut milk.  I made my soup just ever-so-slightly chunky, since I like a little texture in my soup, but you can blend as much as you wish.

Eat this with a chiffonade of fragrant basil on top.  Eat this with a thick slice of bread.  Just eat this now!