Winter Carrot Soup

A simpler variation on Moosewood's excellent carrot ginger soup, this warm lunch meal is simple to make from leftovers, and is especially friendly to elderly carrots. We puree raw pumpkin as part of our Halloween cooking, and freeze it in heavy freezer bags for use during the winter. I haven't tried it with canned pumpkin, but it seems it would work fine.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 onion, chopped
• 1  tablespoon  chopped garlic (jarred or fresh)
• 2  teaspoons  oil
• 1  lb carrot (chopped into bite sized chunks)
• 4  cups pumpkin puree
• 1  cup chicken broth (see note)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
• 1⁄4 teaspoon paprika
•  salt
• 1  cup rice or 1  cup pasta, cooked
• 1  tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. In a saute pan, saute onions and garlic in a bit of oil (sesame is nice, but canola is just fine) until they start to look clear.
2. Add carrots, pumpkin, and chicken broth.
3. Stir to combine, and pick a few spices: nutmeg, cumin, paprika and cinnamon are my standards, but it's really up to you.
4. A bit of salt is nice, too.
5. Once the carrots have softened, ladle them into a blender and puree.
6. Return to pot, and repeat if desired.
7. You should have a nice thick bright orange soup.
8. Now comes the tricky part.
9. Produce rice, ideally from a forgotten Chinese food carton in the back of the fridge.
10. (If no leftover rice or pasta is available, freshly cooked will work just as well.) Dump this square of gluten into a bowl, and add lemon juice (Tbsp+) and pepper.
11. Microwave under plastic for about two minutes; the rice will soften and absorb the juice.
12. Add this to the soup.
13. Stir a few times to combine; serve.
14. A note about the chicken broth: As a variation, I've substituted orange and apple juice, and watered wine.
15. You may want to alter your spices a bit, but I think you'll be surprised at how bright this soup tastes.