While I am not a vegetarian, I find many all-vegetable dishes to be exciting. I do enjoy lamb shanks and braised beef short ribs, but I also enjoy Moroccan vegetable stew equally as much. Now that one of our daughters has decided to give vegetarianism a try, I have even more reason to add new creative all-veggie dishes to our menu.
Although our daughter has seemed to enjoy her three month stint of being meat-free, I think sometimes I am more excited for these new creations. A few weeks ago I made veggiepalooza, a simple stirfry of a multitude of vegetables that I raved about for days. Last week, I created a carrot soup, which was meant to be a side dish to accompany sandwiches, but that I made my main dish as I was so enamored with it. (Yes, I am the quirky person in your dinner party that happily announces that there are brussel sprouts on the menu.) While my less-excited-for-vegetables fellow diners only ate side dish servings, they did seem to enjoy it also.
The beauty of this soup is three-fold. First, it is incredibly simple to make, taking less than 30 minutes. Second, it was low in fat and calories, as the entire pot required only a half tablespoon of butter and a half cup of milk. Third, the flavor was amazing.
On a day such as this, when the temperature is hovering in the single digits with the windchill pushing it below zero, a pot of carrot soup seems like the perfect way to fight the cold. Plus, it may inspire the veggie lover in your home to proclaim his or her love for carrots.
- 3 cups carrots, peeled & diced
- 1/2 Tb. butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 Tb. fresh thyme, diced
- 2-1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- salt & pepper
- Sour cream*
- Maple syrup*
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add carrots, and boil for 8-10 minutes, or until they are fork tender. Drain, and set carrots aside.
- Return pot to medium heat, and add butter. Once butter is melted, add onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, and sauté for 1 minute longer.
- Remove pot from heat. Place half of carrots and half of onion mixture in a blender with half of the broth. Pureé until creamy.
- Repeat with other half of carrots, onions, and broth.
- Return all pureéd ingredients to pot and warm over medium heat. Add milk, and stir well.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Makes 6 side dish servings or 2-3 main dish servings.
- *When serving, each dish can be topped with sour cream or maple syrup for additional flavor.
