5 lbs of Carrots and a New Toy

 

Maybe not a toy but certainly not a necessity as I do have a blender.  A blender is kind of a pain to clean and kind of a pain to store.  The stick blender, or immersion blender, is easy to store and easy to clean.  It is one more thing with a cord though.  Perhaps I can get rid of the blender.  Please speak up if you think that would be unwise.

I've been wanting to make the Smitten Kitchen's Carrot with Miso Soup since I saw it on her website in January.  This recipe was actually from a year ago and she made a different version this January.   This is my version:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds carrots, peeled, sliced and divided

½ pound sweet potato, peeled and sliced the same size as the carrots

1 large onion, chopped

4 regular sized cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

1 ½ tablespoons chopped or grated ginger, or more

4 cups of chicken broth

1 (15-oz) can of vegetable broth

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon of unseasoned miso paste

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat.   Add onion, garlic and half the carrots; sauté until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add chicken broth and ginger.  Cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.

In a small, covered saucepan, simmer remaining half of the carrots in the vegetable broth.

Purée soup in batches in a blender or all at once with an immersion blender right in the pot.   (I under blend mine so there are some noticeable carrot pieces.) Blend the miso and about half a cup of the soup in a small bowl then stir back into the pot.  Remove carrots from small saucepan with a slotted spoon, then add vegetable broth until soup is desired consistency.   

Taste soup, adding salt and pepper or more miso to taste.

Note:  I added the sweet potato because I only had a pound and a half of carrots when I made the soup.  I decided I wanted more carrot chunks and a broth-ier soup so I ran to the store this morning to get more carrots and a can of vegetable broth since that's what the original recipe called for.

I love this soup.  One of the best I have ever made and it seems like there is cream in it although there isn't.  In fact there is almost no fat in it either. 

Miso I used (Korean) from Asian food store.  $2.19