Carrot Double Duty

I am all for multi tasking and I still can't resist a recipe that does double duty. This time of year especially, when friends and family have time off from work and I can see the people I love again. Since for the most part, I work evenings and weekends, my schedule often doesn't coincide with my friends' schedule and I relish in these opportunities to spend time with everyone while they have time off from work. This is when the cooking ahead and making double batches of recipes comes in handy. More time I can save on cooking, more time I can play. The catch is that since I cook for a living, everyone wants to come over for dinner. Fine with me, being the hostess floats my boat, I just have to be creative in time management so that I can still spend quality time conversing and not standing over the stove the entire time. I make a double batch of the glazed carrot recipe, serve the glazed carrots for dinner, and make soup the next day. And by make soup, I mean take the remaining carrots and puree them. Dinner, done.

This soup is simple and delicious, with the added bonus of being very good for you. Kids have been known to ask for it, boyfriends will scarf it down and ask for seconds and it is an excellent starter course for a nice dinner. Because it won’t fill you up, it pairs beautifully with a coursed meal, yet it’s also a fantastic light lunch when paired with a tasty salad. Smashing the ginger as opposed to grating it releases just enough flavor to enhance the soup without overpowering the carrot’s essence.

For Glazed Carrots

3 lbs peeled carrots, cut into large chunks
2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 tsp granulated sugar
¼ cup chicken stock
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and smashed with back of knife
Kosher salt



For Soup
3-4 cups chicken stock

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar, carrots, stock and ginger, place lid on pot and cook for about 10 minutes over medium low heat. Carrots should be almost fork tender, but still have a little resistance to them. Take lid off pot and cook over medium heat until reduced to a glaze, approximately 5 minutes longer. Season to taste. This is a delicious side dish on its own, especially with chicken or pork. To make into a soup, add 2 cups of the stock and puree with an immersion blender or in a standing blender, adding stock as needed to thin. Strain through a fine mesh sieve if desired, although it’s more rustic left unstrained. Pour back into pot if necessary and season to taste with kosher salt. Serve hot. Makes 4 large servings.