Spicy carrot orange ginger soup

Hey there!

So the festivities are over, which probably most of you are happy about. Since I am actually a true lover of the Christmas season I am already looking forward for next years. Yet I am glad to not eat such heavy food on a daily basis anymore. Hence my mum and I decided to start the New Year with a light and delicious soup. Since we had a ton of carrots in the fridge I decided I had to incorporate these in today’s recipe. For the rest of the ingredients I was inspired by my favourite juice. You can actually only get this exact juice in the Markthalle in Zurich and every time I’m there I allow myself to splurge on a ridiculously expensive carrot orange ginger juice. But it is just so amazingly delicious.

Thanks to this exact juice I adore so much I decided to create a spicy carrot orange ginger soup. Other than those three obvious ingredients I only added a few more, which were cardamom pods, black mustard seeds, cayenne pepper and well and onion and some garlic.

The end result of this gorgeous combination was absolutely divine. A nice tang from the oranges, spiciness from the ginger and cayenne pepper and just the plain carrot flavour supported by the addition of some Indian spices ended up being a true delight. It was exactly what my mum and I were craving after our walk on the Üetliberg followed by some relaxation time at the Hürlimann Thermal Bath with the rooftop pool from which we were able to overlook the entire beautiful snow-covered city of Zurich.

Before you start cooking, which you totally should I just need to tell you that if you aren’t to big of a fan of ginger you should probably only add half of the amount it says in he recipe. I love it gingery; hence I added lots and lots.

I guess now you know everything, so you can get started.

1kg carrots
20g ginger
2 oranges
4 cardamom pods
20 black mustard seeds
salt
cayenne pepper
1l water
2 onions
canola oil
dried ginger

1. Peel your carrots and then chop them into 1 cm thick discs. Leave one carrot whole and put it aside for later
2. Finely chop up your ginger as well as your onions and juice your orange
3.Heat up some canola oil in a pan and add the chopped onion, ginger as well as the cardamom pods and the mustard seeds
4. When the onion has softened add the carrots, orange juice, water, salt and if you like it spicy also sprinkle in some cayenne pepper.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the temperature to low and cover with a lid. Let it cook for about 15 minutes
6. Meanwhile slice your leftover carrot from step one into think discs, put them on a baking sheet and drizzle them with canola oil, also sprinkle your carrot discs with some dried ginger and salt, then bake at 180° C for about 20 minutes
7. After 15 minutes of cooking the carrots in your soup should be tender. Remove the cardamom pods from the mixture (they’ll be swimming on the surface) and then puree your soup until smooth
8. If you prefer your soup to be thicker put it back on the stove top and let it cook uncovered over medium heat for another few minutes, if not your soup is ready to be served
9. By now your baked carrot discs for decoration should also be done

Voila, you just cooked an amazing carrot ginger orange soup. This soup is rather on the spicy side, since you added ginger and cayenne pepper, which I absolutely love. You could add some coconut milk if you prefer it less spicy and a bit creamier, yet I find it to be absolutely perfect like this. It is a very heart warming soup, which is perfect for the snowy and cold winter we are experiencing currently. Just what you need after eating a ton of heavy food and probably lots and lots of cookies, chocolate and cake during the festive season. So get going, put your apron on and prepare this delicious light and spicy winter soup.

Bisous
Fanny, the foodie