Friday Food Find: Carrot and Carrot Juice Soup Recipe

The fact that I have discovered two noteworthy recipes in the last two months which use carrots as their primary ingredient is astonishing to me. While watching my new favorite cooking show “French Food at Home” I found myself inexplicably drawn to Laura Calder‘s preparation of this simple carrot soup. Maybe it is because of her novel use of carrot juice as the cooking liquid, or the fact that she said it is a recipe she has been carrying around for years because of its sublime flavor, I felt compelled to make it. This was despite the fact that I was convinced the results would be overly sweet and one dimensional in taste. In actuality the soup achieves the rare feat of exemplifying one pure flavor in a way that makes me appreciate it for how it stands alone, uncomplicated by other ingredients. The use of lemon juice is essential in balancing the sweetness of the carrots and highlighting their earthiness.
Carrot and Carrot Juice Soup
courtesy of Laura Calder
Recipe:
3 Tbsp butter
2 Shallots, minced
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped
3 C carrot juice
salt
lemon juice to taste
chervil for garnish
Method: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the shallots and gently saute until soft. Add the carrots and pour over the juice. Season with salt and simmer until the carrots are very soft. Puree in a blender. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and lemon juice. Serve warm or cold and with a garnish of fresh chervil.