Recipe: Carrot + Cilantro Soup
This weekend is supposed to be beautiful. One of those perfect Bay Area spring weekends where the blossoms are blooming, the beaches are fog-less and we are all itching to get outside. Compound that with the fact that we’ve been homebound and social distancing for 4 weeks and we have a city full of stir crazy people ready to enjoy some public spaces.
But, now is not the time to get lax! I was on the phone with some folks who have been in touch with the Mayor’s office, the Department of Public Health and the Rec and Park Department. If San Franciscan’s get too excited about this weekend’s bluebird days and flood our parks and open spaces, it may cause the city to shut them down. And this behavior could have horrible health effects considering we’ve been social distancing well so ar.
So, have a glass of lemon water on your back stoop, or hang out a window with your sunglasses on, or pull dandelions out from between the stones of your back patio. But stay home! And if you do head out for a short walk, please wear a mask.
One thing that may make staying at home more delightful is cooking something that feels like spring. And that uses basic ingredients you may already have around your house!
Carrot and Cilantro Soup
From Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters
I love this cookbook, and it's the perfect accompaniment to Art of Simple Food, my most beloved and used recipe index. Chez Panisse Vegetables recipes are just a step more complex, with the same straightforward ingredient list.
1 white onion, sliced
3 tbsp. butter
1 bunch of carrots (about 2lbs.)
2-3 potatoes, about 1/2 lb. (I only had sweet potatoes and it was still delicious!)
1-1.5 qts. stock (chicken is recommended but vegetable stock would be great too - just something light, aka not a mushroom stock)
1 bunch of cilantro
1 small red onion or shallot
1-2 jalapeno peppers (depending on spice - jalapenos vary greatly!)
1 lime
Stew onion in butter over low heat in a heavy bottomed soup pot with the lid on to soften. Peel and chop carrots and potatoes, into large chunks. Once the onions are soft but not at all browned, add the carrots and potatoes, along with a generous amount of soft. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Add stock, enough to cover and simmer until the vegetables are cooked through. Remove from heat and add cilantro, leaving one handful for the salsa topping. Carefully puree soup, in either a blender or with an immersion blender. Don't get scalding hot carrot soup all over your counter (and self) like I did.
Strain the soup or pass through a food mill. (I thought this step was fussy, but in the end I'm really glad I did it. Straining the soup gives it a really delicate and velvety texture that is almost luxurious, though a thicker soup would still be completely delicious.) Adjust your seasonings, adding salt or pepper as suits your taste.
Finely dice the red onion and jalapeno pepers then add the lime juice. Let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes, then add the rest of the cilantro leaves, chopped. To serve, bring soup to a simmer, ladle into bowls and top with a scoop of salsa.