Recipe: Carrot and Tahini Soup

Wait, so Michael Pollan's infamous quote was not

Eat food.
Not too much.
Mostly plants.
Almost all soup.

(??)

I imagined that last line?  Just dreamt it up in one soup-craving-inducing-acid-flashback one night?

Obviously. That happened.

Not. 

I've never done (dropped??) acid.  But if I had....you know I'd be the only person in the history of the universe whose hallucinations would tell her to eat more vegetables.

Undeniable truth.





If you have anything against all this soup. If you're getting bored of it.  If you think it's kinda weird/strange/unusual that someone so against drinking calories...drinks them nightly in the form of blended carrot tahini mush heaven. 

Then you should probably speak now. Or forever hold your peace.

Cause we are just entering the honeymoon period, sweetcheeks.  And I don't really expect that this love affair is going to end anytime before June 21st. (Or whatever the first day of summer is this year.) 

At the earliest.

Bonus. If we drink this soup every day from now until then...we'll be (a) bikini ready and (b) a lovely shade of orange bronze.  Self tanning, the natural, cancer-fighting way. I love it.

(You should probably jump on this bandwagon before Paris Hilton picks it up and carrots triple in price.  Supply and demand, baby. And yes, that is pretty much all I learned in my one and only high school econ class.  I'm going to do very well in the real world someday. Not.) 



In all seriousness, I've been making it a goal to eat either a soup or salad once a day, every day.  Because when you have a huge bowl of health as a third of your daily eats...only good things can happen.  Scientific fact.

This soup is a new favorite.  Melissa Clark, whose recipe it is, gets it right just about every time, but this really is exceptional. Sweet, nutty, with just a hint of spice. It's an addiction in a bowl.  No recreational drug flashbacks necessary.

Carrot and Tahini Soup
Serves 4, adapted from A Good Appetite (NY Times)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 fat leek, white part only, thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt, more to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 lb carrots, sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup tahini
• fresh lemon juice, to taste
• pitas, for dunking

Instructions

1. In a soup pot, over medium heat, pour in oil, then add leek and saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, salt, pepper, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne, and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Add carrots and stir to coat them with leek mixture.  Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then add broth, thyme, and 2 cups water.  Bring to a simmer, partly cover, and cook until carrots are tender, about 25 minutes.
3. When carrots are tender, remove thyme branches and stir in tahini.  Using an immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor/blender), puree soup until smooth.  Return to pot and reheat if necessary.  Taste and add lemon juice.  Add salt to taste.

I am submitting this to Deb of Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays and also to Chaya's Meatless Mondays!