Gingery Carrot and Tomato Soup

Last week my husband came home with a 5-pound bag of organic carrots. “Kroger was out of the smaller bags,” he said. “So I thought you could make that carrot soup you’ve been talking about.” Me? Carrot soup? Clearly D has some other, carrot-loving wife he’s confusing me with because carrot soup is not something I spend much time talking about. You see–true confession–I’m a vegan who doesn’t really care for carrots.

Oh, I like them fine as a small component of some soup or stew. And I prefer them cooked to raw, though I can tolerate raw baby carrots if I load them down with enough hummus. I’m just not a big fan of concentrated carrot flavor, so no carrot juice or carrot soup for me. Or so I thought.

My over-crowded refrigerator convinced me otherwise. The gargantuan bag of carrots wouldn’t fit inside a vegetable drawer, so I had to clear out space for it smack dab in the middle of the fridge. I couldn’t get anything on that shelf in or out without moving the carrots, so very quickly I started trying to think of ways that I could get rid of them. And, of course, I came back around to the idea of carrot soup. I mean, did husband D really think I mentioned carrot soup, or was that his smooth way of asking for carrot soup? Maybe I should make carrot soup.

And so I started looking at carrot soup recipes and trying to imagine how all those carrots were going to taste. I looked at curried ones and gingery ones and one hummus-inspired one, but in the end, they all revolved around carrots. (Imagine that.) Finally, I spotted one that offered me an answer. It combined carrots with tomatoes. I love tomato soup, so I could imagine loving a carrot-tomato soup. And I did.

I got out all my appliances for this recipe. I used a food processor to chop the garlic and ginger and to slice the carrots, making the prep time very short. And then I used my Vitamix to blend the soup and my spiralizer to make the garnish. I’m just lucky that long ago my husband agreed to always clean up if I cooked. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into! The clean-up may have been tedious, but we both loved the soup. The fire-roasted tomatoes cut the carrot flavor just enough for my taste without completely hiding it. Unfortunately, our teenager thought it was too gingery, so if you’re cooking for a picky child, consider replacing the ginger with cumin or Italian seasonings.

Gingery Carrot and Tomato Soup

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

The little bit of tahini may seem odd, but it really pulls the flavors together. It contributes a little bit (2/5 of a gram) of fat, but I think it’s worth it.

Author: Susan Voisin, FatFree Vegan Kitchen

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger root, minced
• 3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots (about 6 large), trimmed, peeled, and sliced
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted preferred)
• 2 to 3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce (or wheat-free tamari)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon tahini

Instructions

1. Heat a large, non-stick pot and add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until they soften. (If they start to stick, add water by the tablespoon.) Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
2. Add 3 cups of the vegetable broth, carrots, and pepper or paprika. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT tahini.
3. Transfer half of the soup to a blender. Leave the top ajar (or remove the center cup from the Vitamix) and cover with a kitchen towel to allow steam to escape. Blend, beginning on low and increasing to high speed, until soup is completely smooth. Pour into another pot and repeat with the remaining soup.
4. Simmer, covered, on very low heat for at least 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend. (The soup tastes better the longer it cooks, so if you have the time, give it longer.) If it seems too thick, add additional vegetable broth. Stir in the tahini, check seasonings, and add salt or additional red pepper to taste. Cook for another minute or two before serving hot, garnished with spiralizedcarrots, if you like.

Notes

Using a food processor to chop the vegetables makes this soup much easier to put together. Use the S-blade to mince the garlic and ginger (drop them in the top with the machine running). Then, remove them from the processor and attach the slicing blade to slice the carrots.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1/6th of recipe Calories: 86 Fat: less than 1g Carbohydrates: 18.3g Sugar: 8.4g Sodium: 517mg Fiber: 4.2g Protein: 2.7g

3.5.3208

Vitamix

I count on my Vitamix to make soups like this silky smooth. Though more expensive than normal blenders, Vitamix blenders are much more powerful, and they are built to last for years, sometimes decades, and have the warranty to back them up. If you don’t want to spend over $500 on a blender (who does), consider buying a certified reconditioned model. The Reconditioned Standard, like I have, costs about $329 (sometime less, if you catch a sale.) If you buy any Vitamix priced $299 and up, you can get free shipping by using my affiliate link. I’ll get a commission, too, so you’ll also be helping support this site. Check out all the reconditioned models here.

Enjoy!

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Tagged as: Gluten-free, KISSS, Soy-free, Sugar-free, Under 200, Vita-Mix