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Carrot and Tahini Soup
Difficulty level Easy
My husband loves tahini, so as soon as I saw this recipe I knew it was something I wanted to try. It was a really good soup, with the tahini flavour front and centre and it was also delicious cold. But I couldn't help thinking that good as it was, there are a lot of flavours that could be added to this soup and improve it. I also felt like I wanted some texture to go along with the taste, rather than a simple puree that the recipe calls for.
The soup fairly cried out for some greens such as spinach or kale. Then I thought I would like to try some of my canned tomatoes in it as well. Then I thought some coconut milk would work. I've decided that I'm going to use this soup as base and start experimenting with it and make something more substantial out of it. If I'm right and it's delicious, I'll let you know next week.
INGREDIENTS
| 2 tablespoons | extra virgin olive oil, more for pita chips |
| 1 | fat leek (or 2 slim ones), white part only, thinly sliced |
| 6 | garlic cloves, minced |
| 1 teaspoon | kosher salt, more to taste |
| 1/2 teaspoon | ground black pepper |
| 1/2 teaspoon | ground coriander |
| 1/4 teaspoon | turmeric powder |
| Pinch of cayenne | |
| 1 1/2 pounds | carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick |
| 1 quart | vegetable broth |
| 2 | sprigs fresh thyme (optional) |
| 2 | pita breads, each cut into 16 wedges |
| 1/3 cup | tahini |
| Fresh lemon juice, to taste | |
| Grated lemon zest, for garnish | |
| 1/3 cup | chopped fresh cilantro or mint. |
PREPARATION:
- In a soup pot over medium heat, pour in oil, then add leek and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, salt, pepper, coriander, turmeric and cayenne, and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add carrots and stir to coat them with leek mixture. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then add broth, thyme, if using, and 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, partly cover and cook until carrots are very tender, about 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush pita wedges with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake until brown and crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.
- When carrots are tender, turn off heat and let soup cool for 10 minutes. Remove thyme branches and stir in tahini. Using either an immersion blender, standard blender or food processor, purée soup until smooth. Return to pot and reheat if necessary. Taste and add lemon juice and more salt if desired.
- Serve soup garnished with the lemon zest, cilantro and pita wedges.
From the New York Times, April 7, 2010
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