Culinary Guides

A simple pot of vegetable soup can feel like a hug on a cold night. We made this one with the sweetest carrots we grew all season, blended smooth with tahini and warmed with cumin, then finished with a bright pine nut and parsley gremolata. The right topping turns a plain soup into something special, and this one earns a spoon. Serve it with toasted sourdough on a chilly evening.

Ingredients

For the pine nut gremolata

• 1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of fine sea salt

For the soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, scrubbed clean and chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 cups water + additional to thin if necessary
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Stir together all the gremolata ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring now and then, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, garlic, cumin, and kosher salt and stir to coat.
3. Pour in the 4 cups of water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Off the heat, add the tahini and lemon juice. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth, or work in batches in a countertop blender, taking care with the hot liquid.
5. Thin with a little more water if needed, then taste and adjust the salt and lemon.
6. Ladle into bowls, top each with a spoonful of the gremolata, and serve with toasted sourdough.

The soup keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes well in single portions. A pinch of red pepper flakes or a splash of coconut milk are nice additions if you want more heat or body.

Grower's tip: Soup carrots taste best when they mature in cool weather. Sow a late summer crop so the roots size up as the nights turn cold, which pushes their sugars up and makes them far sweeter than anything pulled in the heat of summer.

A great soup starts in the garden. Grow a row of sweet carrots, a few onions, and a patch of parsley for the gremolata on top.