Homemade Carrot & Ginger Soup

I prepared a fresh batch of ginger soup from a recipe I found on Reed's Inc. Blog and it is delicious! It was very easy to make. This is a soothing, nutritious soup, that is easy on the palette.

I have always liked the combination of ginger, carrots and oranges. Since I frequently juice fresh, ginger and carrots, this is the perfect soup to make on a day I juice, because I can use the ginger/carrot pulp from the juicer to make this soup. 

A few other observations: I thought 1/3 cup of fresh ginger might overwhelm the soup, but it doesn't. In season, you could easily substitute butternut squash for the carrots, and sweet red peppers would add a nice flavor to this soup. The cream adds richness but you don't need heavy cream for this recipe to work. 

Bowl of Ginger Soup, ready to eat.

I also changed the recipe slightly. While I sauteed the onions I placed the ginger and carrots together in my food processor and pulsed them, rather than mince them by hand. Once the onions were translucent I added the carrot/ginger mix, then the chicken stock and simmered for 15 minutes, turned off the heat and let it sit for another 15 minutes. Then I poured the mix into my food processor, gave it whirl, put it back in the sauce pan and added the fresh orange juice I had made in my juicer. That was a nice touch to have fresh squeezed orange juice. A dash of cinnamon, a dash of spike, a little cream and it was done! 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup minced onion

1/4 cup minced peeled fresh ginger

3 cups (or more) chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

4 cups sliced peeled carrots (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup half and half

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup matchstick-size strips peeled carrot (for garnish; optional)

1 tablespoon matchstick-size strips peeled fresh ginger (for garnish; optional)

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and 1/4 cup minced ginger and saute until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups chicken stock and 4 cups sliced carrots. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.

Working in batches, puree mixture in blender or processor. Return soup to saucepan. Mix in orange juice, then half and half. Cook over low heat 5 minutes. Mix in ground cinnamon. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing, thinning with more stock if necessary.) Ladle soup into bowls. Top soup with carrot and ginger strips, if desired, and serve.

Bon Appetite!

Lucinda