The Color Orange

There's nothing dramatic about this recipe, well maybe it's bold orange color.  What is dramatic is the flavor.  This is a soup, ok I'll say it, sounds cliche, but it's a "go to" recipe when I have a dinner party.  Excuse me if it's been served to you more than once at my table.  I like to serve it in small little bowls  after appetizers and before the meal.  It helps me settle in to getting everything else prepped and on the table.  Isn't that the hardest part of a dinner party, actually getting the food served all warm and ready at the same time!

The technique and the ingredient list is simple.  All you need is a one pound bag of carrots, a couple of onions (garlic too if you like) some cumin seeds (ground if that's what you have) olive oil and chicken broth (vegetable if you lean that way)



Roasted Carrot (or Pumpkin) Cumin soup

1 pound of carrots peeled and cut in half (depending on size of carrots)
2 onions quartered
a sprinkling of kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp of olive oil

4 c. chicken broth (one box)

2 tsp. crushed toasted cumin seeds or ground cumin

Garnish:
Smoked (nitrate free) bacon cooked crisp for garnish (I bake it on that same pan in the oven...no mess)

Creme fraiche or some heavy cream for the tiniest of touch.  If you use cream you could be artistic with a swirl.


Preheat your roasting tray in a 425 degree oven. (the one pictured used to be my jelly roll pan...now it's strictly a "roasting" pan. ) Roast them for about 25 min. until they are tender and browning.

When they are tender put the carrots and onions in a stock pot with the chicken broth and the cumin.  Let the pot simmer (for about 30 -45 min) Use an immersion blender or a food processor to puree the soup. Add more liquid for desired consistency.

Meanwhile, put a few tsp. of cumin seeds into a skillet and warm over medium heat until fragrant.  You'll want to watch them closely so they don't burn. Use a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle to crush the seeds...it smells wonderful.

Everyone asks "What is this" they know it's an orange vegetable, but can't place it.  So, on that note I decided to make it for my first Los Angeles Food Blogger event showcasing Pumpkin recipes. Couldn't decide on a Pumpkin idea, so I made this recipe but substitute Sugar Pie Pumpkin and roasted it in the same manner. It was good, but I think I prefer the carrot version.  If you make this with pumpkin you need to add a spoon of raw honey because carrots are naturally sweeter than pumpkin.



The color orange is a favorite of mine, you can check it out on Pinterest. http://pinterest.com/crazy4kale/orange/  or the many recipes to try on my food idea board: http://pinterest.com/crazy4kale/