creamy carrot ginger soup

also known (at least to me, as Census Soup or Half-shekel soup

Sweet carrots are even more delicious when combined with fresh ginger. I recommend using organic carrots for this soup. Avoiding pesticides is a good thing in general, but organic carrots are also sweeter and more flavorful. Coconut milk makes it creamy and smooth as silk.

So what’s with the funny names? Census Soup? Half-Shekel Soup?

Today, I’m making this Carrot Ginger Soup as part of my menu for this week’s Torah reading, Parasha Bamidbar.‍ ‍I like to find a way to relate at least something in the meal to the reading, to encourage conversation on the topic. Thinly sliced carrots can resemble coins.

In this Torah portion, a census is taken, with each person contributing a half-shekel to the community pot. While this soup is a smooth and creamy carrot soup, I add in some additional sliced carrots as garnish, for the “shekels.”

Long ago I heard that carrot tops were not edible, and so for years I cut these beautiful greens off the tops of my carrots and tossed them.

But it irked me. They just looked so beautiful! So I did some real research rather than listening to rumors and found out that this was absolutely false. Not only are carrot greens edible, they’re super nutritious and really tasty in many dishes. Puréed into a sauce, they make an excellent dip for pita or challah, as well as a beautiful bright green garnish for this soup.

Ingredients:

2 ½ pounds carrots, divided. plus their tender leaves (see note)

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

2 onions, peeled and chopped

1 to 3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger, to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon ground fenugreek

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 cups stock, chicken or no-chicken (avoid using vegetable stocks with tomato)

1 can full fat coconut milk

Diamond Crystal kosher salt and white pepper

a pinch or two of sugar

Optional: Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes, to taste, for a spicy kick

Notes: The additional ½ pound of carrots is to add whole carrot slices to the finished soup. If you want to make a smooth soup without carrot rounds, just use the 2 pounds of carrots.

The inclusion of sugar in the recipe might seem strange, but it really enhances the flavor. You don’t want to use too much–just a pinch or two will do.

Method:

• Remove the tops from the carrots. Strip the tender leaves from the stems and put the leaves to soak in a large bowl of cold water.

• Peel the 2 pounds of carrots and cut them into chunks. If you’re making the “carrot shekels,” peel another ½ pound of carrots, cut them into nice, fairly thin slices, and set them aside.

• Heat the oil or butter in a soup pot, add the chopped onion, and sauté until the onion is translucent and beginning to color.

• Add the garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cinnamon, and cardamom, and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.

• Add the 2 pounds of carrot chunks. Cook, stirring, to coat the carrots with the oil and the aromatics. This will take all of about two minutes.

• Add the stock and the pepper flakes if using, bring the soup to a simmer, and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the carrots are turning mushy.

• Remove the pot from the heat and purée the soup with an immersion blender (this one is the best one I’ve had) or by transferring to a food processor in batches.

• Return the pot to the stove and stir in the coconut milk, then taste for salt. How much you’ll need, if any, will depend upon the saltiness of your stock. Add the sugar

• If the soup is thicker than you’d like, you can thin it with a little more stock.

• If you’re using the carrot coins, add them now and continue to simmer the soup until they’re cooked through to your liking.

• Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the carrot greens garnish (recipe below), and serve.

Note: You can put the remaining carrot greens garnish in a bowl and serve it alongside the soup, with bread for scooping it up.

Carrot Greens Garnish

Just about every culture has a green sauce that’s made from fresh herbs, oil, and seasonings. Think pesto, zhoug, chimichurri … you get the idea.

Ingredients:

1 bunch cilantro

greens from 2 pounds carrots, soaked and rinsed

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

the juice of half a lime

1 teaspoon (or more to taste) freshly grated ginger

2 to 4 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado

salt to taste

optional: a few slices of hot pepper, such as jalapeño, or a dash or two of cayenne pepper

Method:

• Combine all ingredients in the work bowl of a food processor and process until you have a fine, almost-but-not-totally-smooth, sauce. Adjust all the seasonings to your taste.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?