Pumpkin-Carrot Soup

I began chopping an onion this afternoon with the intention of making a completely different dish, but then I started musing on my daughter's recent, ahem, tummy troubles. Not to put too fine a point on it, she's in need of more fiber in her diet. It's hard to get her to eat fruits and vegetables lately because her palate is so temperamental, and all she really wants is cheese and crackers. The blueberries she gobbled down yesterday are spurned today. But I know she likes carrots, and I know she likes pumpkin pie (for now). Also, these two items contain loads of fiber, so instead of trying to force kale down her throat (haha!), I decided to create a soup just for her. I tend to think of onion as merely a flavor component, but maybe it's got some fiber too. But the nice thing about this soup is it's so easy to make, you can even do laundry and walk the dogs while it's cooking.

vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups baby carrots, chopped
1/2 cup applesauce
1 quart veggie or chicken stock (low-sodium)
1 large can (29 oz) pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp yellow curry powder
1/3 cup sherry or dry white wine
salt and black pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 c pepitas, toasted

In a large stockpot, saute the onion and garlic in oil until soft and translucent. Salt a bit to sweat the onion. Add the carrots and applesauce; saute another 5 minutes. I had half an apple that wasn't going to be eaten, so I chopped it up and threw that in as well (you can see the red peel in the photo below). Add stock, pumpkin, and spices.


Stir well, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat immediately and add bay leaf and cream. Simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes, until carrots are quite soft. While this simmers, toast pepitas lightly, stirring to turn. Salt them lightly when still hot.


Remove bay leaf from stockpot. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Taste, and adjust salt and pepper. Add some water if you want a thinner soup.

Serve sprinkled with toasted pepitas and a dollop of sour cream.

Instead of Mashed Potatoes

What do you do when you have a giant pile of roasted vegetables that you can't bear to eat one more night? Throw it into the food processor! This is another one of those recipes that I created in an attempt to find something my toddler would eat (she refused), and discovered something that I would not be surprised to see on a plate at an elegant restaurant. I don't cover mine with foie-gras stuffed poached prunes and a port wine reduction sauce, however...

2 fennel bulbs
1 med. red onion
2 shallots
4 parsnips
4 carrots
spray olive oil
kosher or coarse sea salt
1/2 can chick peas, drained
1/4 cup water (or more)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Wash and chop all the raw vegetables. Arrange in a large roasting pan, and spray with olive oil. Toss to make sure veggies are thinly coated in oil. Sprinkle with a little salt. Roast about 30 minutes on the 2nd highest rack in the oven on broil, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Onion and fennel should have caramelized, and the parsnips and carrots will be quite soft.

Working in batches, transfer roasted veggies to food processor. Ad chick peas. To ensure an even distribution of all ingredients, divide the chick peas in commensurate amounts to the veggie batches. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides and adding drizzles of water and olive oil to attain a smooth consistency. Just before serving, stir in parmesan cheese.

I recommend serving this as a side dish alongside a nice steak or lamb chop, with a dark leafy green such as kale.