Check out this simple but flavourful and nutrient carrot chervil soup. A combination of lots of carrots, ginger, onion and fresh chervil makes a perfect comforting bowl of soup. Enjoy it for lunch, brunch or dinner.
I love soups. Have you ever noticed that soups are associated with being cared for? Every time when you don’t feel good, either physically or emotionally, there is a soup to make you feel better. The number one is chicken soup. You can try my version of protein chicken rice soup. But, because warm dishes like soup bring a sense of comfort to the soul, any soup belongs in the group of comforting food. Wink.
Soups are an amazing dish. They are comforting, incredibly versatile, easy to prepare and budget-friendly, too. Pick any vegetable you like or a combination of vegetables, keep it in chunks as a rustic soup or blend it into a creamy soup. In order to make it even more interesting, use toppings. For instance, fresh herbs, croutons, cheese, yogurt, nuts, seeds, roasted vegetables or even mushrooms.
Try these tasty soups as well: bean pastrami protein soup, a classic pancake soup, a delicious celery apple soup, a summerish chilled almond-garlic soup or this Brussels sprouts coconut udon noodle soup.
Chervil
In this recipe, I used a new herb, which I’ve never used before and I’ve never heard of it before, either. I am talking about chervil. Now, I am sure you all know parsley, chives and tarragon. Well, chervil belongs to the same blend of fine herbs, most often used in French cooking. But almost always it is overlooked, because of being too unfamiliar.
The first time I got chervil, I thought it was parsley. It was parsley, but French parsley. Wink. They actually look pretty much the same, or in a way, it reminded me of carrot green, too. But then, when you look closer, you see that something is different. The leaves look like a miniature form of curly parsley, but more delicate.
Let me briefly describe chervil’s taste. Chervil is always described as delicate. In fact, it’s a combination of mild parsley with an anise tinge. And, it is only used fresh and ideally just before use. Therefore, to really taste it, cook it only for a short time or use it as a topping or in a salad.
Ingredients for 2-3 portions of carrot chervil soup:
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil
- half a knob of butter
- fresh ginger (ca 2 cm piece)
- 8 large carrots
- 1 large red onion (chopped)
- 1500 ml of vegetable stock
- 60 g or a large handful of fresh chervil (plus some for garnish)
- 200 ml orange juice (fresh)
- 1 tsp of nutmeg
- sea salt and pepper
- 3 Tbsp of natural yogurt (Greek)
To begin, wash and cube the carrots, peel and chop the ginger and peel and chop the onion. In a middle pot, drizzle some olive oil and add half a knob of butter. Once melted, throw in the carrots and onion. Sauté them for a couple of minutes.
Then, pour in the hot vegetable broth and cook for about 25-30 minutes. After the carrots get tender, add the fresh chervil and cook for a minute longer. Afterwards, remove the pot from the heat and, using an immersion blender, purée them until creamy.
At this point, put the pot back on the stove, stir in the orange juice and season with nutmeg, sea salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
Finally, divide the carrot chervil soup between the bowls, add a dollop of natural yogurt and top with more fresh chervil.
Enjoy.
