Curried Carrot Soup

What do you do when you have 10 pounds of carrots?  Experiment with carrot soup, of course.
We loved using coconut milk instead of a heavy cream for this soup .  The rich sweet coconut flavor plays so well with the curry, while the cilantro and lime add acidity to brighten and balance the soup.  Curry often has a deep earthy flavor, but here it’s becomes clean and fresh.  To save time, we used our beloved food processor to chop the carrots, onion and garlic.

SOUP
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 pound unpeeled carrots, chopped (about 4 cups)
3 medium shallots, chopped
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 can of coconut milk
2 cups low-sodium broth (chicken or vegetable)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3 tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
20 whole cilantro sprigs, plus extra chopped for garnish
Sriracha for garnish

CILANTRO GREMOLATA – garnish
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
1 lime, zested

In a small bowl, mix the ingredients together. Garnish on soup and enjoy!

1. In a large stock pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, shallots, salt and pepper and cook while stirring until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Stir in the ginger, curry powder and garlic and cook while stirring until well combined and fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the broth, coconut milk(reserve a little for garnish), lime juice, 20 cilantro sprigs, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, about 30 minutes.
4. Remove and discard the cilantro sprigs.
5. Puree the soup in batches in a blender, (be very careful with hot liquids in the blender), I use an immersion blender in the pot.
6. Taste and adjust the seasonings, serve in soup bowls, drizzle with Sriracha (optional) and garnish with cilantro gremolata (recipe above).