I felt a bit inventive on this one. With an abundance of carrots at home, I thought I would have my try at making a carrot soup with a little more zing than the average cream soups. So, after many tries of cumin, curry, turmeric, cinnamon, and other spices into the soup, I decided on ground ginger and fresh squeezed orange. It was risky, but by the end, I felt like some kind of chef training for iron chef or something- secret ingredient “orange.” I hope that you will give it a try if you’re longing for some beta-carotene, for some good vision.
Since, I could not serve this soup as a meal itself, I paired it with some broiled chicken wings, and was actually rather pleased with the outcome. Dip the wings into the soup and close your eyes when you bite into the wing, and you’d think you were indulging in orange chicken. But, the second time around, chicken all eaten, I simply made some croutons (toasted bagel with olive oil in the toaster) and added it to the soup for the crunch it needed. Healthy and tasty, just a bit too hot for a summer night.
Ingredients: (for about 5-6 cups soup)
- 1/2 onion
- About 7 carrots
- 3 chicken cubes, or 3 cups chicken stock
- Olive oil
- 3-4 cups water
- 1 cup defrosted peas
- 1-3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 orange juiced
- 1/4 cup cream or milk if desired
Directions:
1. Chop the onion into small pieces. Get a large saucepan and coat the bottom with olive oil. Turn on the burner high, when the oil is hot, add the chopped onion. Cook and stir for a few minutes. Then lower the fire while you prepare the carrots.
2. Peel the carrots. Then cut them into small chunks. They don’t have to be perfect, just try to get them to the same size. Add the carrots to the saucepan. Then, add about 3 cups of water, or chicken stock if you have it. If you are using chicken cubes/bouillon, just add enough water to submerge all the carrots plus a little more. Also, add the bouillon cubes at this time.
3. Turn the heat up and wait for the water to boil, then cover the pot with a lid, lower to a simmer, and let sit for about 25 minutes, or until carrots are soft, and you can cut through them with a fork. When carrots are soft, turn off heat.
4. Spoon the carrots into a blender. Add the liquid slowly, being careful not to splash yourself. Blend some, then add more liquid as needed. Once all it blended and smooth, add back into the saucepan.
5. Heat the creamed carrot. Stir in about 1/4 cream or milk if desired. Stir at a low heat, as to prevent the milk from curdling. Then, add the ginger and orange to the soup, a little at a time, and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Also, add the peas and cover the pot.
6. If you would like to serve with croutons, cut up any bread you have on hand to cubes. Douse in olive oil, salt lightly and pepper, then put in toaster oven, or oven at 350 F. Watch closely as to not burn them.
If you want to experience orange chicken. Place chicken wings on a broiler pan and set in the oven on “BROIL- HI” and cook 15 minutes on one side. Then turn each wing, and cook for another 15 minutes. For presentation, place on spoon strategically, and balance your stride to serve to guests. Bon apetit.
