How To Save Decrepit Carrots

Cooking with fresh ingredients is one of the most basic of pleasures. It keeps me motivated to maintain my garden and get up early to hit the farmer's market.

But in the real world I also buy the 5 lb bag of baby carrots at Costco which eventually become whitish-orange decrepit imposters of their former selves. Which were not that great to begin with.

Since my husband hates it when food goes bad in the fridge, and I really would rather not waste anything, these decrepit imposters must be eaten somehow.

Enter roasted carrot soup, the saver of the less-than-fresh. I first learned about this soup from my friend Becky. She was inspired by Food52. Since my carrots were seriously really old, I doctored the recipe into an Indian version with lots of spices. It worked out brilliantly.

Curried Carrot Soup
serves 4

1.5 lbs baby carrots
3 TBL olive oil, divided
salt & pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp red chile powder
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced
4-6 cups vegetable stock (depends on how thick you want the soup)
cooked brown rice
plain yogurt

Spread carrots out on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle about 2 TBL olive oil on them and toss to coat. Sprinkle a good amount of salt on them. Run under a broiler for about 15 minutes, tossing them every 5 minutes, until browned and softened.

In a soup pot over medium high heat, toast the curry powder, turmeric, chili, and cumin seeds in 1 TBL olive oil for about 2 minutes or until aromatic. Add onions and saute for 3 minutes, then add garlic and ginger and saute another few minutes or until onion is translucent.

Add stock/broth and do a taste test to determine how much salt to add, some stocks are very salty. You may also need to add more chile, depending on how spicy you want it. Stir in salt & pepper, and roasted carrots and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer the soup for 5-10 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender (on my Christmas list!) woo woo the soup. If not, add it in batches to a blender.

Serve over some cooked brown rice with a dollop of plain yogurt, enjoy!