As the cool autumn temperatures become the norm once again, it’s time to start serving up some soup. Besides the warm comforting qualities of soup, one of the other great things about soup is that you can make up a big batch. Depending on the size of your household, you could have enough soup to last a couple of meals, saving you time in the kitchen. Most soups freeze well, too, so don’t hesitate to make a double batch and stock your freezer.
Gingery Carrot Soup is perfect for this time of year to take advantage of the harvest of fresh carrots now appearing at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. Other soup ingredients you can pick up there include potato, onion, garlic, and ginger. Check with Kilpatrick Family Farm stand for fresh ginger. Unlike the ginger you’re accustomed to getting at the grocery store, fresh ginger doesn’t have to be peeled.
It’s your choice whether or not to peel the carrots and potatoes in the recipe below. Like the ginger, many freshly dug root vegetables have a thin skin, so many people don’t peel them. The skins get tougher over age with storage.
Using buttermilk in the recipe below adds a tangy flavor. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Mix the two together and allow to sit for 5 minutes before adding to the soup. That is the cheating method for making the milk acidic. Real cultured buttermilk gets its sour flavor from the natural lacto-fermentation process which produces lactic acid.
Today’s recipe is from the “Farmers’ Market Favorite Recipes” cookbook available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, the Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Ballston Spa, and select retail outlets. The cookbook can also be ordered online at www.ccesaratoga.org.
Gingery Carrot Soup
2 pounds carrots*, peeled & sliced
1 medium potato*, peeled & diced
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large onion*, chopped
2 small cloves garlic*, crushed
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
Combine carrots, potato, stock or water and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté until onions are wilted. Puree everything together in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return the puree to the saucepan and whisk in the ginger and buttermilk. Heat gently on low. Do not boil after buttermilk is added.
Makes 8 servings.
Per Serving: 120 calories; 4 g fat (2 g sat); 10 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 4 g fiber; 270 mg sodium. Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (380% daily value), Vitamin C (20% dv).
Ingredients marked with an asterisk (*) are available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on High Rock Avenue. For information about food and nutrition contact Diane Whitten at Cornell Cooperative Extension at 885-8995or dwhitten@cornell.edu.
