Carrots, Large and Sweet
In my Pennywise Pantry tour, I sing the praises of local carrots. Under $2/pound, they are a great deal, and a recent student publication quoted me saying, “Everyone should have a drawer full of carrots.”
I do feel that way. I just read about a school nutrition study by Cornell University that showed that 69% of school children will take fresh carrots if they are offered to them. (Interestingly, if both carrots and celery are offered, the percentage of children taking carrots increases to 89%, showing that students like carrots, but they like getting a say in what vegetables they eat even more).
Carrots were originally grown in Central Asia and the Middle East, where they sprang from the earth in a rainbow of colors: red, black, yellow, white, and purple. The orange carrots most commonly seen in these parts, dense with beta carotene, were first cultivated by the Dutch in the 15th and 16th centuries, and spread to the West from there.
I've blogged about carrot recipes here before, including Cumin-Roasted Carrots with Orange Dressing, Pickled Ginger Carrots, Lacto-Fermented Carrots and Watermelon Radishes, and Maple-Glazed Carrots. You can find even more carrot recipes on the recipe page of our website (search by ingredients for carrots).
But I think my favorite savory carrot recipe is “Creamy Gingered Carrot Soup,” adapted from Heaven’s Banquet cookbook. The sweetness and smoothness of carrots is a wonderful match for the earthiness of wild rice, and the soup always feels like a complete meal.
When I make this soup, I double or triple it and freeze extra batches in quart-size yogurt containers. It’s pulled me through many a a tough spell (during cold and flu season and otherwise), and also makes a great gift for a friend in need.
Do you have a favorite savory carrot recipe? Enter our winter recipe competition by February 12 for a chance to win a $100 gift card to City Market.
Creamy Gingered Carrot Soup with Wild Rice
1/3 cup wild rice
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup butter or ghee
2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
6 cups sliced carrots
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup orange juice
salt and white pepper to taste
Bring the water to a boil and stir in the wild rice. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 50-60 min.
Meanwhile, melt the butter or ghee in a large soup pot. Add the ginger, carrots, celery, and salt. Stir, cover, and cook over a low heat until the vegetables are very tender, 30-40 min.
Puree the vegetables, stock, and orange juice in a blender or food processor. Add wild rice to soup and reheat. Thin with more vegetable stock if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 7 cups.
Adapted from Heaven’s Banquet