How Tempting the Carrot Can Be

10/5/11:  Cream of Carrot Soup

There's been lots of tempting fruits and veggies on the farm the last month or so. Lots of great baking apples, sweet potatoes, sugar pie pumpkins, and winter squash. These are the type of veggies I like: ones that take a long time to bake but end up sweet and comforting. And they warm up the house to boot!

Another vegetable that has been on my mind is the carrot. We planted numerous rows of these this year (500 feet long rows, I should add), and we've been harvesting bushel after bushel ever since August. 

Up to a couple days ago, I only roasted carrots in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and s&p. Carrots, plain and simple. But during the last part of September I was looking for a different recipe, and I found one via one of our good customers at the farm stand: Suzanne. 

She gave me a recipe card for a Cream of Carrot Soup. Ah, very intriguing, don't you think? (She gave my sister and I a couple more cards which we will be giving a try soon!)

  

Suzanne was telling me that she came across this recipe when she was visiting the Fernwood Nature Center in Niles, MI. There she tried this soup for the first time and thought it was really delicious.

Before I get to my carrot soup experience, let me write out the recipe for you as Suzanne wrote it:

Cream of Carrot Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 ham bone
• 6 cups water
• 1-1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 stalks celey, cubed
• 4 medium red potatoes, cubed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups half and half
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place ham bone and water in large pot. Bring to a boil. Remove any scum, then add carrots, celery, potatoes, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 2 hours, or til vegetables are soft. Strain mixture and save water. Discard bay leaves. Puree vegetables using some reserved cooking water in blender, food processor, or using stick blender. Remove any ham from bone and puree if desired, (I would chop up and add unless you desire a very smooth soup). Add remainder of cooking water you saved, then re-heat to simmer. Add half-and-half and salt and pepper. Serve HOT!

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I planned on making this soup for two weeks but just couldn't find 2-1/2 hours of time to make it happen. But when last Wednesday rolled around and I needed to stay home to freeze some green beans, I thought I could work on the soup at the same time. 

I am very pleased to say that I followed the recipe precisely--I even had the ham bone, bay leaves, and half-and-half. Let me tell you, that doesn't happen too often for yours truly!

So the soup turned out to be wonderful; I could taste the carrot and it had a smooth texture because of the potatoes. And the ham bone gave it full-body, rich flavor similar to that of split pea soup. Since it was so good and simple to do, I think the humble carrot has found a new place to put up his feet. ;)