A Recipe for Fall : Carrot Ginger Soup

It's fall and time for our family's favorite soup! This is one of the first meals me make once the weather turns cooler and blustery. It's super simple, super quick (takes about 30 minutes, once you've got the routine down), and SOUPER YUMMY!

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients: (You can easily multiply this, we usually do double these amounts)

• 1 pound of carrots
• 1 2-inch section of fresh ginger root (there's not really a reason you couldn't use minced ginger or powdered ginger, if that's what you've already got at home, though you'll need to adjust the amount you add to taste.)
• 1 onion (I prefer walla walla)
• Oil of your choice (I prefer avocado oil, but use your favorite!)
• Broth of your choice – enough to get the consistency you want. I’d say we would use 1-2 cups for that amount of carrots
• Salt and Pepper (or other spices! Get creative!) to taste
• Protein of your choice (we've used crab, shredded leftover chicken, leftover crappy fish sticks and Ikea meatballs LOL)
• Roasted veggie topper of your choice (we especially like sauteed kale, but have also used leftover roasted asparagus or broccoli!)
• Roasted nut or seed of your choice. Our favorite is roasted, salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Instructions:

• Peel and chop the carrots to ~1 inch chunks. We often just use baby carrots that need to get eaten up.
• Chop the onion very roughly (you're just going to blend it later).
• Scrape the skin off the ginger as best you can. I like to use the edge of a spoon. You can chop this into a couple smaller pieces if you wish.
• Place the carrots, onion and ginger on a baking sheet and drizzle with the oil of your choice. I like to use a fair amount of oil to add some fat to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Roast all of the above for about 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees until the carrots are soft enough to blend. It’s yummier if the onions get a little char on their edges.
• Once they’re roasted, throw the roasted veggies and some broth into a blender. You can also use a stick blender or a food mill. We like it to be really smooth. You’re probably going to need to heat it some more, to make it a nice temperature for eating. Do that.
• Add more broth or salt/pepper to taste!
• Top with the protein, extra veggies and nuts or seeds of your choosing!
• Get all cozied up with a blankie and ENJOY!

From a Chinese Medical perspective, this soup nourishes the Spleen (via the carrots and ginger), warms your Qi (ginger), and depending on which veggies you might add, could also help nourish your Kidneys!