Carrot Soup with a Nutmeg Cream
Often when I serve a vibrant colored soup like butternut squash, carrot or sweet pea, I find it difficult to dilute the brilliance with the addition of cream to the soup. What I do instead, is whip the cream with a corresponding flavor, in this case – nutmeg, and float it on top just before service. The cream slowly melts into the soup, like the cream on a cappuccino, and showcases the beauty of the base soup.
Carrot Soup with a Nutmeg Cream
Course: SoupsCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy25
minutes40
minutesIngredients
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 medium-sized yellow onions, peeled and roughly cut
1 stalk celery, roughly cut
3 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
Kosher salt and white pepper to taste
- Nutmeg Cream
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 dash freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and white pepper to taste
- Final Garnish
2 teaspoons chopped dill
1/4 cup crisp nutmeg croutons
8 small dill sprigs
Directions
- Heat the oil in a large (4-quart) saucepan. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in carrots, celery, chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Blend the soup with either a handheld immersion blender or in a regular household blender until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper.
- To serve, whip the cream to stiff peaks and season with nutmeg, salt, white pepper and chopped dill. Ladle soup into serving bowls and top with a spoon of whipped cream. Sprinkle with nutmeg croutons and top with a dill sprig. Serve immediately.
