Potage Crecy (Carrot Soup)

This was so yummy! We really enjoyed it and I'll probably make it again. Ethan gobbled it up! The color is a little off-putting, but the taste is great! I only made a half a batch and it made about 3 servings.

What you Need:

1 lb fresh carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2-1 inch thick pieces

1 medium Russet (or other starchy) potato, peeled and chopped into pieces about the same size as the carrot pieces

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

½ cup dry white wine (I substituted chicken broth)

1 qt vegetable broth or stock

Kosher salt and ground white pepper, to taste (I just used regular pepper and it tasted good)

What you do:

In a large soup pot melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic and carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is slightly translucent, stirring more or less continuously.

Add the wine and cook for another minute or two or until the wine seems to have reduced by about half.

Add the stock and the potato. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are soft enough that they can easily be pierced with a knife. Don't let them get mushy, though.

Remove from heat and purée in a blender, working in batches if necessary. (I had to add more stock so that it wasn't too thick to blend nicely)

Be Very Careful!: When processing hot items in a blender the hot steam can sometimes blow the blender lid off. Start on a slow speed with the lid slightly ajar to vent any steam, then seal the lid and increase the blending speed.

Return puréed soup to pot and bring to a simmer again, adding more broth or stock to adjust the thickness if necessary. Season to taste with Kosher salt and white pepper.

Garnish with a toasted crouton and serve right away. (I didn't want to take the time to make the croutons, but they would've been pretty good, I think I'll be sure to do that next time.)

Variations:

• Try adding ¼ cup of minced fresh ginger along with the onions and garlic.
• Or, after puréeing, add 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves before bringing the soup back to a simmer.
• Or, stir ¼ cup hot cream into the soup just before serving. (As you can see in the picture I put a little dollop of sour cream on ours. I liked it, Ethan didn't.)
• The soup can be thickened with rice instead of potato. Just substitute about 1/3 cup of uncooked rice for the potato, and simmer the soup until the rice is soft. (I realized when it was too late to run to the store that I had somehow run out of potatoes, so this is the method I used. If you do it this way make sure you really cook the rice well, or it's a little gritty.)

I found this recipe here, if you're interested in checking out the original.