Curried Carrot Soup

It was 49 degrees in Duluth on Saturday, but the cold wind from Lake Superior made it feel like 30 degrees, so it was soup day for me.  This recipe is a modification from one in The Soup Bible.  I replaced the olive oil with coconut oil, and reduced the amount of vegetable broth to make it creamier.  Yum!  Our daughter-in-love, Kiara, had some tonight and she also thought it was  scrumptious.  


But my brain's pleasure center really lit up when my friend, Tahirih, visited. She is a frequent "juicer" and feels wasteful if she throws out the fiber extracted by her juicing machine.  So she had cooked the mixture of fiber from carrots, tomatoes and I don't remember what else with some spices and then put it in her blender.  But it still had a grainy texture, so she wanted to try using my VitaMix to make it smoother.  Kudos to the VitaMix! It successfully transformed the grainy mixture into a creamy one. So we swirled a bit of that mixture into my curried carrot soup for a richer visual and taste experience.  


As a side note, a couple of weeks ago I had a complete lipid profile analysis, which showed that my consumption of coconut oil has not created any problems for me.  In fact, my HDL, LDL, total cholesterol and triglycerides were all improved since I started to use coconut oil and all are now within optimal range.  See my earlier post about coconut oil and why it is more easily digested by people with pancreatic insufficiency.    


Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 pound carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
dash of sea salt
sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper

Optional garnish:  goat yogurt, non-fat yogurt or fat-free feta cheese; parsley or cilantro
(not included in nutritional analysis)

Preparation:
To chop the onion, carrots, and ginger, I used the chopper attachment for my Cuisinart SmartStick and it performed the task quickly and clean up was easy.  Heat the oil in a saucepan and add curry powder, onion and ginger.  Cook until onion is soft.  Add carrots and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.  Pour in the broth and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Blend soup until smooth.  Return to the saucepan and gently reheat.  Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with a swirl of yogurt or sprinkles of fat-free feta cheese and the parsley or cilantro.
 
Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 104
Total Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 187  mg
Total Carbs: 17 g
Dietary Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 2 g