carrot parsley soup
For most, January is the most boring month in the world — it’s cold, it’s gray and you just want to stay at home snuggled up in a blanket in bed. But for me, January is one of the most exciting months in the year. Not only because my birthday is on January 24 (turning 25!!!), but most of all because it’s one of the craziest, most exhilarating weeks in the watch industry. Those who have read through my About page know that food blogging is my hobby while my real-life job is watch journalism. I’ve been a journalist for a watch magazine since January 2013, writing several articles per issue and attending press conferences and events all across Switzerland and Europe. It’s been an adventurous two years where I got to meet people from all walks of life, but if I had to pinpoint my favorite time of the year in terms of work it would be definitely RIGHT NOW.
Geneva becomes a whole different city during the week of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) — a watchmaking exhibition that showcases the latest products of 16 watch brands. During this week we barely sleep — we race from early morning until late at night attending press conferences, discovering the new watches of the year, interviewing prominent personalities in the industry and attending some of the best cocktail events and parties of the year. I’m Day 4 into the week (yes, 4, because we began working this Sunday), and although I’m exhausted it’s such a great feeling.
The last thing I want to do when I come home after such a long day is cook up a storm in my kitchen. Soups and salads become my favorite meals during the SIHH, as they’re quick to prepare and fill me up with a nice slice of bread. I spent the last couple of weekends cooking soups to freeze especially for this week, and today I’d like to share one of the easiest I have made so far: this carrot parsley soup.
I had a kilo of carrots in my fridge, and knowing that I wouldn’t be gnawing on so many carrot sticks, I decided to make a batch of soup with them. Carrots are naturally sweet, so I needed to find a way to tone down their sugary taste by adding more ingredients. I chose to work with parsley, lemon juice, garlic and onion, although there are many other ways to jazz up carrot soups, such as Deb from the Smitten Kitchen‘s colourful carrot soup with tahini and crisped chickpeas. Note to myself: you must try Deb’s take on carrot soup next — especially since I love tahini!
Just like all my soups, this one is dairy-free but retains its creaminess despite calling for no potatoes this time! In all my previous soup recipes I used potatoes to obtain a creamy texture instead of using dairy products, however the 2 pounds carrots required to make this soup give it its velvety and thick appearance without needing any potatoes.
Making this soup is so easy and can be even prepared on a weeknight. The most time-consuming part is actually peeling and chopping the carrots into thick coins, but once you’re done with that the rest is easy peasy. Chop an onion and 2 garlic cloves, sauté them in a bit of olive oil, add the carrots and cover in vegetable broth. Simmer for 30 minutes until the carrots are soft, add a bit of lemon juice and parsley, purée and voilà!
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- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 pounds (1kg) carrots, peeled and chopped into thick coins
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Cover the vegetables with the vegetable broth. Cover the saucepan, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes until the carrots are soft.
- Add the lemon juice and chopped fresh parsley. Purée with a handheld blender until you reach the desired consistency. Add more water to thin out the soup if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve topped with chopped fresh parsley.
How did your carrot parsley soup come out? Share photos of your recipe on Instagram by tagging #savormania