Carrot Cheddar Soup

Well.

I got something in my eye.

I'm not sure at this point if it's pinkeye, irritation due to contact wearing, something really cool that I don't even know about yet, or just mutiny of every blood vessel in one eye for staring at a computer all day every day.

I am sure, that it hurts.  In a way that has me swearing every 5 minutes.  In a way that requires REST from getting dressed, doing work, or looking at anything that isn't, well, black.

It's a good day, is what I mean.

On good days like this one, I need comfort food.  For me, cheese is comforting.  Is it for you too?  It's also moderately cold here, which means that it's already sunshiny (eff my eye, that sh*t hurts) and will reach 60 in a matter of hours.  Not that I can enjoy it, but this morning it was, like, 43.  So we need soup.  With cheese.

Wanna see a fun way to make it?

Cheddar Carrot Soup

Here's what you need:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3 large carrots
• 1 stalk celery
• ½ medium onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon flour
• ½ cup tomato juice or puree (I used the juices from 1 13 oz can diced tomatoes)
• 2 - 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock - see how I make my own here!
• 4 oz mascarpone cheese
• 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ to 1 cup milk
• 1 scallion, optional, for serving
• ½ cup mixed fresh herbs, optional, for topping
• crusty bread, for serving

These ingredients are totally affordable minus the mascarpone.  Sorry about that.  Do you know what mascarpone is?  It's like cream cheese mixed with butter.  Seriously.  It's DELICIOUS, and you can add it to anything you'd like to make creamy, spread it on bread...eat it with a spoon....you get the picture.

So.  Let's make soup!  First, scrub the carrots and cut off the ends.  Cut them into large chunks - ⅔ inch or so.

Add the carrots, olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to a large soup pot.  Turn the pot to medium heat.

While the carrots and pot are warming up together, cut the celery stalk into chunks about the same size as the carrots.

Same with the onion!  No need to be precise about it, we're going to blend the soup all together later.  Mince the garlic too.

When the carrots have just started to soften, after about 7 minutes, add the celery and onion and stir the veggies together for 2 minutes.

Then add the garlic, and stir for one more minute, just until you can smell the garlic.

Now, sprinkle the flour over all the veggies and stir again, so the veggies get coated with the flour.  We're adding the flour to slightly thicken the liquids so we don't have to add TOO much dairy later on to thicken the soup.  Smart, huh?

When the flour has cooked for a minute or two, pour in the tomato juice...

...and the stock!  You want enough stock so that it comes about ½ inch above the veggies.

Now, let's cook the soup.  Cover the pot and let the soup simmer (you'll need to lower the heat, likely) for 20 - 30 minutes until the carrots are very tender.  Test them with a fork.

While the soup is cooking, grate the cheddar - I used white, but yellow is just fine!

Grab any topping ingredients you'd like, too.  I used 1 scallion and a handful of parsley and fresh dill.

When the veggies are cooked, use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree the soup until it's very smooth.

Then, add in the dairy!  Two cheeses and milk - start with half a cup and add more if you'd like a thinner soup.

Now, stir everything together to melt the cheese and taste - add more salt and pepper if you'd like.

That's it!  This is really simple and SO delicious.  We loved it for lunches for several days after I made this!  You can of course make this way ahead and serve it whenever you'd like - it kept really well in the fridge for 4 days and might have lasted longer if we hadn't gobbled it all up!

And....I served this with toasted bread smeared with mascarpone cheese.  I think I ate more bread than actual soup.  That still makes the meal healthy, right?

I need an intervention.

 

 

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This is so perfect that I included it in this week’s Weekend Potluck.  It’s this cute thing where blogs from EVERYWHERE can submit recipes to share with others – it’s so fun to check out new things!

It’s run by:

• Meet Penny ~ Tabitha
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Sunflower Supper Club ~ Kim & Julie
• Life As a Lofthouse ~ Holly
• 4 Little Fergusons~ Tonya
• The Country Cook~ Brandie