Chilled Carrot, Coconut, and Ginger Soup

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s summertime, which makes me a happy woman! Last year I featured a celebration of summer garden tomatoes by featuring some recipes made with fresh garden tomatoes. My celebration included a couple of chilled gazpacho recipes, including my Garden Heirloom Gazpacho, made with garden fresh yellow and blue cherry tomatoes, and my Summer Garden Gazpacho made with classic red heirlooms.

Now, before you ask me why my carrot soup isn’t orange, I’ll tell you. I make my own veggie stock and it is packed, literally packed, full of lots of powerful green veggies (among other veggies) including asparagus stems, artichoke stems, broccoli rabe and broccoli stems…the list goes on and on. Because of this, my homemade veggie stock is typically green and therefore adding it to my carrot soup also makes my soup a bit green. This is a real-life food blog people 🙂 and these are the things that can happen when you’re hell-bent on packing as many vitamins and antioxidants that you can into even the smallest, simplest of dishes. Now let’s get to the soup, shall we?

I love making chilled soups in the summer and this year I’m featuring a few of my non-gazpacho recipes. Just recently I showed you how to make Chilled Cucumber Soup made with Greek yogurt and buttermilk (and yes, I typically make it with pickling cucumbers) and today I’m sharing my chilled Carrot, Coconut, and Ginger Soup made with gorgeous heirloom carrots.

This chilled carrot soup is full of color, flavor, and antioxidants (thanks to the carrots and my homemade veggie stock), so not only is it beautiful to look at, it’s also delicious and really, really good for you. This particular soup is made from purple heirloom carrots, called Cosmic Carrots, that I got from Baker’s Creek Heirloom Seed Company. I typically don’t have a lot of luck growing carrots even though I seem to be able to grow just about every other vegetable under the sun.  These particular carrots I actually received free with my annual purchase of seeds from Baker’s Creek and after reading the reviews from people who said they can grow these carrots successfully, I threw some seeds into my garden and prayed for luck.

Behold, these are just some of my Cosmic Purple Carrots.

Yes, a few of the carrot tops are gone, which I credit to the numerous baby bunnies that invaded our yard (and gardens) this year. This is the first summer in years that we’ve had rabbits, which seems sadly due to the fact that the foxes we typically have roaming our area are much more scarce than years past. So is the way with nature; I’m just glad the bunnies didn’t eat all of my carrots that I was finally able to grow.

The nasturtium flowers pictured here are not just for a beauty shot – they’re actually packed full of vitamin C and add a spicy punch to the finished soup, although they’re not required.

Chilled Heirloom Carrot and Coconut Soup Recipe

• 2 tablespoons butter (I love Kerrygold for its full flavor)
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 1-inch piece peeled ginger, smashed and minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 medium jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed, diced (optional but it adds great flavor)
• 1 lb carrots, ends trimmed and scrubbed well and diced (I prefer not to peel my carrots because the peel is full of fiber and nutrients
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth, preferably homemade
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 can (13.5 oz.) unsweetened coconut milk, shaken well before opening, 1/4 cup reserved for serving
• 1/4 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
• Nasturtium flowers for serving (optional)

Directions

• In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the butter just until bubbling over medium heat.
• Add onion, ginger, garlic, and jalapeno and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
• Add carrots and stir well.
• Season with salt and pepper, stir well, and cook about 8 minutes, stirring often, until carrots have begun to soften.
• Add stock and coconut milk, remembering to reserve 1/4 cup of coconut milk for serving
• Stir well and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to a rolling simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Carrots should be softened through but not falling apart.
• Remove from heat and let cool about 30 minutes.
• Stir in turmeric.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together reserved 1/4 cup of coconut milk and 1/4 cup Greek yogurt. Set aside for serving.
• Pour carrot mixture into a food processor or blender and puree well, stopping to scrape the sides a few times. Puree until smooth.
• Serve by filling 4 bowls, swirling in reserved coconut and yogurt mixture, and topping with nasturtium flowers.

This recipe makes about 4 servings of soup. Tell me this is not the most gorgeous bowl of carrot soup that you’ve ever seen..even though it’s not orange. 🙂

This soup is so packed full of good vitamins and antioxidants that it makes you feel better almost immediately.  While the jalapeno, turmeric, and nasturtium are all optional, please note that they provide a lot of disease-fighting nutrients to this soup. The ginger, garlic, and carrots alone still give you a serious nutritional boost.

If you don’t have nasturtium flowers but still want to add a bit of spice at the end, swirl in a little sriracha or other hot sauce before serving.

This is one of the delicious recipes I make with a bounty of carrots. What do you do with your carrot overload? I’d love to hear your ideas.

Chilled soups are not only refreshing but often good for you, too. Enjoy!