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I really didn’t think this one was going to be a keeper. Maybe months later, I thought, I’d look back and laugh and write about it as one of my near misses (read: disasters). When I took my first taste of this soup I’d just invented, all I got was bitterness. But I’m the kind of person who really hates to throw away food when it’s technically edible, so I just put the whole pot in the fridge to postpone the final decision till the next day. And when I tasted it then, I ended up eating half of it for lunch. Something had happened overnight; somehow the flavors had mellowed and blended to the point where the soup tasted pretty good, even to someone like me who doesn’t really like carrots.
But then, I don’t really care for winter squash either, and yet I’ll happily eat soup made of it. A lot of winter vegetables are like that. Their slightly sweet blandness makes them a good background for stronger, spicier flavors.
Not that this is a spicy soup, in spite of the onions and ginger. As I said, the carrots and the sharper-tasting ingredients seem to blend and meet somewhere in the middle of the taste range. The onions and ginger just seem to add a little extra warmth, which we’d all welcome on a winter day or night. I won’t say I carefully chose them for that reason; in fact, they were what the vegetable people happened to bring us last time round, but I’ll remember them when I’m coming up with future winter dishes.
Purée the soup to whatever consistency you like — I left mine a little chunky (okay, I’d overloaded the food processor slightly and it was overflowing, so I had to stop while it was still chunky).
Make this during a quiet moment, and the next day all you’ll have to do is heat and eat.
- 4 medium carrots
- 5 green onions (green part only)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger
- Peel carrots and cut in small rounds.
- Peel ginger and grate — it will make about a teaspoonful.
- Bring 3 cups water to a boil and the soy sauce to a boil in small pot.
- Carefully add carrots and ginger.
- Turn down to medium heat and cook for five minutes.
- Chop green onions and add them.
- Cook five more minutes.
- Purée the vegetables and cooking liquid, in batches if necessary, to desired smoothness.
- IMPORTANT: Refrigerate overnight before serving.
