Carrot Soup - Straight Up

On Thursday we had our first snow in Prague. It feels like winter -- a bit too soon, but it did put me in a wintery mood, the sort of mood where root vegetables satsify your tummy. But which one to soup? What about carrots? I've probably had carrot soup five times in my life -- and I've loved it every time, which begs the question: why don't I eat it more often? It is easy to do -- it takes a bit of time, but there is a minimal amount of work in this recipe -- and there are loads of variations that you can make on Heidi Swanson's basic recipe. I used less onion and I did not add any olive oil above what I put in with the onions and garlic at the start. I also did not add vegetable stock, only water. The final result was full of flavour. If you add a twist or two, I suggest you don't add the lemon, but replace it with other spices or flavours. As I experiment with the variations, I'll post them.

1 1/4 pounds carrots, unpeeled and scrubbed thoroughly
1 T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 a large onion
3 cups hot water or vegetable stock
juice from half a lemon
Sea salt

Take the tops off the carrots (if they have tops) and give them a good scrub. Cut them into 1-inch segments and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to get translucent. Add the stock and carrots and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender - longer if your carrot pieces ended up larger. But try not to overcook. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.

Puree with a hand blender to the consistency you want (I left it pretty heavy and chunky) - then stir in the lemon juice. Salt to taste. If you used a salty veggie stock, you might just need a little salt. If you used water, you'll need quite a bit more. Keep adding a few pinches at a time. If it tastes flat or dull, keep adding.

Finish with a drizzle of great extra-virgin olive oil.

Serves 4.