Recipe: Cold Carrot Soup to Beat the Heat

Cool Carrot Soup

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

A 2” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

10 carrots, peeled trimmed and cut into 2” pieces

1 small russet potato, trimmed and coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce (or more to taste)

Salt to taste

Slices of pickled peppers, onions, fennel (or your favorite pickle) to garnish

Yogurt to garnish (optional)

In a heavy soup pot or pressure cooker sauté the onion and ginger in the olive oil until they take on some color and soften a bit. Add the carrots and potato to the pot with a quart of water.

Add the soy and fish sauce. Bring the water to a boil, cover the pot and turn the heat down so the mixture simmers. Cook until carrot and potato are very soft. Remove from heat. Turn the mixture into a rough puree using a food mill, immersion blender or food processor. You can even use a potato masher. The trick is not to make a silky smooth puree. You want some texture to make the soup more satisfying. Taste the puree and adjust the soy and fish sauce if necessary. If necessary, add salt to taste.

If using a pressure cooker, put on the lid and cook over high heat until you reach high pressure. Adjust the heat to maintain the pressure and cook for 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pressure normalize naturally. Remove the lid and follow the directions in the previous paragraph to make the puree.

Chill the soup until cold. Garnish with small pieces of your favorite pickle. Add a dollop of yogurt if you wish.