Chilled Carrot Soup With Cumin and Lime

It’s been a bit difficult to decide between warm weather soup and cold weather soup, our temperature has fluctuated so much. I started out having this carrot soup warm the first day and then cold the next day. It worked both ways, so you can eat it whichever way you like depending on how hot or cold you are. There are lots of recipe for carrot soups around, but this one is nice and tangy with the lime juice and cumin is one of my favourite spices, so I really enjoyed this soup. This would be a great cold soup to serve in shot glasses as an appetizer at a 4th of July barbeque. This soup is from Bon Appétit, August 1998.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 2  lbs carrots, peeled, chopped (about 5 cups)
• 2  large leeks, chopped (white and pale green parts only)
• 1  tablespoon garlic, chopped
• 3 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dry crushed red pepper
• 6 1⁄2 cups  chicken stock or 6 1⁄2 cups  vegetable stock
• 8  tablespoons sour cream
• 2  tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2  tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2  teaspoons lime zest

Directions

1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots and leeks; sauté until leeks begin to soften but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add cumin and crushed red pepper; sauté 30 seconds longer. Add 6 1/2 cups chicken broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until vegetables are very tender, about 35 minutes.
2. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. Transfer soup to large bowl. Cool. Whisk in 6 tablespoons sour cream. Cover soup and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Stir lime juice into soup. Thin soup with more broth, if desired. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into 4 bowls. Spoon 1/2 tablespoon sour cream atop each serving. Sprinkle with cilantro and lime peel.