Spicy Carrot-Peanut Soup
A spicy, creamy soup that warms, satisfies, and just might cause you to wipe your nose.
Equipment
- Saucepan - medium to large
- Blender or Emulsifier
- Scale - to weigh 1 pound of carrots
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 pound peeled, cleaned carrots
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter more or less to taste
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: peel and chop carrots into large chunks, cutting especially fat pieces in half lengthwise. Chop onion and garlic.
- Warm sesame oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add carrots, onions, and garlic. Allow to sauté for 5 minutes or so until the onions are translucent and the carrots start to brown. Add 1/4 cup water if it gets too dry.
- Add spices: salt and pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes; allow to cook into the carrots for a couple minutes before adding the broth and water.
- Add in 4 cups total broth and water. Recipe calls for 2 cups of each, but you can adjust as needed. Bring to a boil, cover pan with a lid, turn down heat and allow to simmer about 20 minutes until carrots are easily pierced with a fork.
- Add sweet chili sauce and allow pan to cool down a little bit.
- Add peanut butter and blend contents, either by emulsifying with an immersion blender, or by pouring into a blender in two batches. Return smooth soup to pan in order to re-warm prior to eating.
Notes
I am impatient, so to help cool the soup in order to get the blending done more quickly, I pour it from the saucepan into an 8-cup measuring bowl. Once the steaming subsides, ladle half of the broth and carrot chunks into a blender, (making sure to add the peanut butter at this time if it wasn't already added to the saucepan), cover with a folded towel to guard against leaks and burns, and liquefy on low. Pour smooth soup back into the pan and repeat the blending process with remaining broth and carrots.