Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup

Over the last few weeks I have been traveling with friends throughout Asia.  We visited Tokyo, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand (I was supposed to travel to Vietnam as well, but I lacked the necessary Visa so had to stay in Bangkok). 

My absolute favorite place during our entire trip was a small island that we rented as a group.  Pulau Pangkil (www.pangkil.com) is a small island in the Indonesian Archipelago.  It measures at about a 1/2 mile long and 1/4 mile wide and takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other.  The picture is one of the "driftwood palaces" where I slept for the five amazing days that we spent on the island.

Each and every day the staff prepared delicious meals for all of us.  From freshly caught and grilled fish to curries and even sauteed tempeh the selection was always vast and the portions plenty.

On one particular evening they served us a chilled creamy carrot soup that was out of this world.  It was prepared with lemongrass, which gave it a nice bite and lemony flavor.  The chef and I chatted (as best we could given the language barrier) about the recipe and preparation and when I arrived back in the states I tried my hand at this delicious soup.

Immediately on my arrival back to San Francisco I had to head home, shower, change, re-pack and jump on a flight to New York.  My good friend Christian was out of town so he let me use his apartment in Chelsea, mighty close to a Balducci's, one of New York's finest grocery stores.

Thinking that I would be able to find all of my ingredients at this foodie paradise I headed over and began to shop.  To my surprise, no lemongrass.  So I had to improvise and opted for ginger thinking that this would impart a similar flavor profile as the lemongrass.

I was amazed at how easy it was to prepare this soup.  Here is what you need:

- 1/2 stick of unsalted butter - 3 cloves of garlic, minced - 1 large sweet onion, chopped - 3 tbsp of fresh ginger, peeled and minced - 1/2 cup of dry vermouth - 1 lb of carrots, peeled and chopped into medium sized pieces for cooking - Zest of 1/2 lemon - Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Melt the butter over medium heat in a stock pot. Saute the garlic for about a minute (be careful not to brown the garlic or it will cause the soup to taste bitter). Add the onions and continue to saute until translucent. Toss in the ginger and saute for a few more minutes and then add vermouth and let it cook down for about 3 minutes. Place the carrots in the stock pot and fill it with water (you can also use chicken or vegetable broth) until the carrots are covered and the water rests about a 1/2 inch above the carrots. Cook for approximately 45 minutes, covered. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool on the stovetop or in the refrigerator. Using a blender, food processor or hand blender process the soup until creamy. Add the lemon zest, taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve it up cool or warm (I like it warm).