Easy Creamy Carrot Soup With Ginger

Winter time is soup time for me, I love all kinds of veggie loaded clear or creamy soups. They are also a great way to put more vegetables on the dinner table. Carrot is one of the vegetables we can still benefit from after the cooking process, because it’s easier for our bodies to take advantage of some of its protective antioxidants like beta-carotene and convert it to vitamin A. Ginger, cooked in food and using a small amount is a good way to introduce spices to your baby (from 8 months old and later if the baby has any digestion problem). Bobcat loved mild aromatic spices from early age, like garlic, ginger and basil. It’s also good to swap sugar and salt to mild spices.

This soup is an absolute hit for grown-ups, kids and babies as well. You can puree it completely if you prefer it smooth, but I think it’s the best with a bit of a texture. To reach this, I use a hand blender and leave some soft and chunky carrot bits in. For babies, this will encourage chewing, but make sure the pieces are not too big and that  they are very soft. I serve it with toasted french stick slices and some creme fraiche. It only takes about 45 minutes to prepare it and the recipe below serves 4 grown-ups.

Ingredients:

800g carrots peeled and sliced

1 medium onion chopped

1 heaped tsp of fresh ginger minced

700ml vegetable stock

70ml double cream

knob of butter and a tbsp of olive oil

black pepper to taste

Optional: a tbsp of orange zest and creme fraiche

Method:

Peel and chop the vegetables and the ginger (you may add some optional orange zest and hint of nutmeg here). Place them all into a large pan with the butter and the oil and fry them on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and cover. Cook for another 15-20 minutes until the veggies are soft. Then add the cream and simmer for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. With your hand blender puree it until it reaches the desired smoothness. Put is back on the hob and warm it up again. Serve with some freshly cracked black pepper and a little creme frache on the top.