Easy as 1-2-3: Chilled Carrot Ginger Soup

Someone put a challenge up on some Facebook group to come up with a good summer soup. My immediate thought was that I live in the subtropics, soup is not a summer option.

But, a bit later, I remembered chilled soup. Duh...

It was too late for the challenge, but the wheels were already turning. I put together a chilled summer soup based on one of my favorite smoothies. I added a little savory touch to the sweet and came up with a pretty tasty way to soup up a summer meal.

Carrots, ginger and green apple paired with some garlic and cumin and topped with Egyptian dukkah. Exotic and comforting at the same time.

Sometimes adding a little unusual taste to a comfort food is just what you need to make it even more special.

What's your favorite chilled soup? Shaare your favorite recipe with me at vegetarianonabudget@gmail.com.

Chilled Carrot Ginger Soup

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, peeled  and minced
• 1 green apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
• 3 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 cups of water
• Dukkah* for serving

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes until they start to soften.
2. Stir in the ginger, apple, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and cinnamon and continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes. Add the carrots and the water. Bring the soup to a  boil. Reduce heat and  easilysimmer for 15-20 minutes until the carrots are soft.
3. Use a potato masher to smash up the larger bits and stir it into the liquid. If you want a smoother soup, use a blender to break the chunks apart.

*Dukkah is available from specialty spice shops or you can make your own fairly easily using some variation of the nuts listed here and this delicious spice mix.

• Walnuts
• Cashews
• Almonds
• Hazelnuts 
• Sesame seeds
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Toast the whole nuts (walnuts, cashews and almonds) in a dry skillet until they start to get fragrant.
2. Add the sesame seeds and just toast them.
3. Remove the nuts and seeds from the heat, and transfer them to a food processor or small spice grider/blender.
4. Add the spices, and process the mixture until the nuts are broken down to the point that they resemble coarse sand. You could chop with a sharp knife, but that's a lot of work.