Just before Christmas I was doing a bit of entertaining with small dinner parties. I had baked a ham for one dinner and was left with a ham bone for making soup for the next dinner party. I made a broth with the ham by . .
- putting the ham bone in a large soup pot and covering the ham bone with about 8 cups of water . . .bringing it to a boil and simmering it for several hours.
- I added a cheesecloth packet of 10 pepper kernels and 5 whole allspice.
- I added to the pot 2 bay leaves and
- 1 tablespoon summer savoury.
You wouldn't have to use roasted carrots but it adds another level of depth to the flavour of the soup. The soup will stay a brighter orange if you don't roast the carrots and I wasn't that pleased with the appearance but it tasted fabulous.
- 2 pounds carrots scrubbed clean cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 large onion cut into 8 pieces
- 6 -7 cups of ham broth (add additional broth later if you find the soup too thick. .because the broth is already flavoured it will not bother the soup to add more later)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- a dash cayenne pepper
- a few dashes hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (you do not need salt if you are using a ham broth)
- the juice of half a lime
- Line a cookie sheet with foil and spread the carrots and onion evenly.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven until the carrots and onions are very tender and just beginning to caramelize.
- Put the broth, the carrots and the onions over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
- Add the seasonings and simmer 30 minutes.
- Add the lime juice.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to the consistency you want. If you do not have an immersion blender. . .put it a few cups at a time into a blender. .be careful not to fill your blender too full. .hot liquids tend to explode.
- Serve with a teaspoon of sour cream.
Roasted carrot soup..that's a new one for me! It looks delicious! And a table set beautifully for company..
ReplyDeleteWe love soup around here, and I would like to try this sometime. I wonder if it would work to sub sweet potatoes for the carrots?
ReplyDeletewhile this soup sounds yummy... it seems to be to much work to make it.
ReplyDeleteReal broth is time-consuming to make, true, but oh so worth it. I used to have a pressure cooker for that purpose. You can't imagine the full rich flavour until you've tried it.
ReplyDeleteMy pressure cooker was given as a wedding present, but was so scarred and pitted, not to forget the difficulty of getting replacement rings that I gave it to metal recycle after 35 years of wonderful, nutrition packed soups. And homemade dog food.
I'll be faking this carrot soup recipe now with chicken broth.
Thanks again for another 'real' recipe. Madame Benoit would be beaming.
anon1
I've recently started roasting more vegetables and find it such a great way to cook veg. We roasted whole carrots the other day and they were very yummy. Someone had roasted brussel sprouts the other day. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness. I love caramelized onions, too.
ReplyDeleteWe love soup, too and guess what! I have a ham bone in the freezer from the holidays. It is supposed to be rainy tomorrow and that would make a nice dinner for us.
I was reading your comments and the one about pressure cookers caught my attention. The new pressure cookers don't have as many bad things that can happen with the old ones. I was always afraid of mine, too. I never used it I don't think. I have plenty of time and love the smell of food cooking in the house.
Oh yummy! Although it is summer here in Africa, i am marking this one for winter!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add how much I enjoyed the setting. The beautiful deep orange of the soup complemented by the rosey flowers on the china edges, and then the coup de grace -- the carmelly coloured top-knot bun. (For which there's a recipe here somewhere I hope?)
ReplyDeleteI will buy a bag of carrots at the farmers market tomorrow, and freeze most of this soup. I eat homemade soup everyday. In my freezer now I have the base soups for broccoli and borscht, full recipe vegetarian green split pea and black bean.
I hope you don't mind I tell you about my kitchen.
It feels like home here.
anon1
This sounds so yummy. I agree that roasting th ecarrots and onions is the sectret to the great taste. I have a ham bone is the freezer...now I know what to do with it. Kathy (MGCC)
ReplyDelete