It’s getting a little cold in Souther California lately. This means Mr. Naranjito LeCreuset is out and busy. Yes, I named my bright orange pot after the 1982 World Cup Soccer Championship mascot. What can I say? I am a fan! 🙂
With temperatures reaching 60 degrees Fahrenheit, who wants to eat a cold salad, right? It’s time for delicious, nutritious and warm soups!
I’ve made countless variations of carrot soups over the last year, but this is the winner. This recipe was adapted from Joy The Baker. I replaced the extra virgin olive oil with coconut oil. I also added coconut milk, shredded coconut and orange zest for garnishing. You could also use lime zest instead and some peanuts for a Thai-infused flavor.
I hope you enjoy it!
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons of fresh grated ginger (3-inch piece)
- 1 large red apple, chopped, no need to peel if organic
- 1.5 pounds carrots, chopped (~6 cups) - no need to peel if organic
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Optional
- 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut, for garnishing
- 1 tablespoon of orange zest, for garnishing.
- Heat the coconut oil in a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another couple minutes.
- Add chopped apple and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the vegetable broth, stir, and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the carrots are fully cooked, 10-15 minutes.
- Transfer to a blender ( or use an immersion blender). Blend on high speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and blend for another 30 seconds.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with shredded coconut and orange zest
- It makes 5 delicious cups!
Some interesting facts that I learned today about carrots:
- Before the 17th century, almost all cultivated carrots were purple. The modern day orange carrot wasn’t cultivated until Dutch growers in the late 16th century took mutant strains of the purple carrot and gradually developed them into the sweet, plump, orange variety we have today. Before this, pretty much all carrots were purple with mutated versions occasionally popping up including yellow and white carrots. These were rarely cultivated and lacked the purple pigment anthocyanin.
- In ancient times, the root part of the carrot plant that we eat today was not typically used. The carrot plant however was highly valued due to the medicinal value of its seeds and leaves. For instance, Mithridates VI, King of Pontius (around 100BC) had a recipe for counteracting certain poisons with the principle ingredient being carrot seeds. It has since been proven that this concoction actually works.
- The Romans believed carrots and their seeds were aphrodisiacs. As such, carrots were a common plant found in Roman gardens. After the fall of Rome however, carrot cultivation in Europe more or less stopped until around the 10th century when Arabs reintroduced them to Europe.
- The largest carrot ever grown was 19 pounds; grown by John Evans in 1998 in Palmer, Alaska.
- Although the orange carrot was not cultivated before the 16th and 17th centuries, there is a reference in a Byzantine manuscript around 512AD which depicts an orange rooted carrot, suggesting that at least this mutant variety of carrot could be found at this time.
- Mel Blanc, the voice of cartoon character Bugs Bunny, reportedly did not like carrots.
- A medium-size carrot has 25 calories, 6 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of fiber. The veggie is an excellent source of vitamin A, providing more than 200% of your daily requirement in just one carrot
For more information about carrots, check here and here and here
