Chilled Carrot Soup with Yogurt and Tarragon
"Carrots are orange. What a beautiful color! Actually, carrots come in all different colors, but the ones I like to use in this chilled soup are orange. A little fresh turmeric grated on a fine grater or a zester makes the color a vibrant yellow’ish orange and lends a faraway romantic spice to this refreshing dish." – Seamus Mullen
Ingredients
- Salt
- 1 pound large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Arbequena olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- Zest and juice of 1 orange
- 1/4 teaspoon whole turmeric, grated on a microplane
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, grated
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt - I like to use Labne, a strained Middle-eastern yogurt
- The leaves of 1 bunch of tarragon (about 2 tablespoons), coarsely chopped
Preparation
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Add the carrots and blanch until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the carrots from the boiling water and chill in an ice bath.
Meanwhile, heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, sweat for 1 minute, then add the garlic and sweat for 1 more minute. Remove from the heat.
Place the carrots in a Vita-Prep blender or regular blender with the vinegar, orange zest and juice, turmeric and ginger and process at high speed. With the motor running, drizzle in about 1/2 cup of cold water to achieve a nice velvety consistency. Reduce the speed to its lowest setting and drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil until it’s fully incorporated. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper; if you like it to be more acidic, you can add more orange juice or vinegar.
Divide the soup among four chilled bowls. Top each with a dollop of yogurt, a sprinkling of tarragon, a drizzle of olive oil and a little freshly ground pepper.
