The Easy Peasy Carrot Ginger Bisque

• Type: Vegetarian
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Entree

Let's start this off with a bang shall we.  For my first blog entry, I choose something that looked as equally easy as it did delicious.  Of course, my first completely vegetarian meal also required a trip to Whole Foods (not really but I decided this was a symbolic gesture on my new found journey).  

 To my surprise, just $11 later I had everything I needed.  Bonus! Healthy and cheap, even when purchasing all organic ingredients.  Here is a list of things your will need.

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1 tablespoon olive oil (I used Safflower but any mild oil will do)
3/4 cup diced onion, organic
1/2 cup diced celery (I used celery root), organic
1 (1 1/2 inch) piece of ginger, finely chopped, organic
4 cups vegetable broth, organic
1 1/4 pounds carrots, chopped, organic
1 small to medium russet potato, cut into large pieces, organic
1 1/2 teaspoons mild curry powder
Salt

1/4 cup raw tahini* (I used homemade, see below)
1/3 cup filtered water (+ extra if needed)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

The recipe for the homemade Tahini is further down in this blog  (it wasnt as easy to make as it sounded) and can also be found <HERE (Coming soon)>

If you dont have the time or already have store bought Tahini thats perfectly fine too. If using homemade, start soaking your sesame seeds the day before.

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I always like to get the grunt work out of the way first.  I started by attempting to tackle the celery root as this is an ingredient I have never worked with before, and honestly, it’s quite intimidating looking.  I sat there and stared at this object that looked as if it was cultivated on an alien planet. Once I hacked of the top part with a machete (not really but it felt that way) it looked a lot more manageable.  Start by removing the top rooty (is that a word) part and then remove the skin with a vegetable peeler.  Once you get all the nasty skin off, just slice and dice.  You will most likley have some left over and it's easy to freeze and use again later, BONUS!

After that, its pretty easy really.  I also took so​ me time to peel and chop the carrot and also chop the potatoe into rather large pieces.  Remember that the potatoe will cook much quicker than the carrots, so the pieces should larger than the carrot pieces.   Also take this time to skin and dice the ginger as well as the onion.

*TIP*- Use a spoon to remove the skin from the ginger, it's super easy!

Let's get cooking! Add the oil (1 tablespoon) to the pan.  After that add the onion, ginger, and celery root.  Saute until the onions are translucent (about 8 mins).

After the onions are translucent, add in the carrot, potatoes, 4 cups vegetable stock, and curry seasoning.  For this recipe I decided to use a curry that had some kick to it (I love spicy food, but you can sub a mild or non spicy curry). The brand I used was fantastic! Organic Muchi Curry from Whole Foods.  Now that we have everything in to pot bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for around 25 mins, or until the carrots are tender.  Don't be afraid to fish a carrot piece out of the broth and give it a taste.  If the flavors are muted, simply add some salt, stir, and taste again until the base of your soup is flavorful.  Always follow the number one rule of cooking, taste as you go! This has saved me many a time from producing a bland or unbalance dish.  While the soup is simmering is the perfect time to whip up your homemade Tahini (if you are using store bought, you can skip this step)

To start off we need to soak our sesame seeds.  To soak, just place is a shallow dish and add enough water to cover them.  For this recipe we will need 1/2 cup of seeds. To our surprise they soaked up all the water while soaking! Soaking is important because when seeds are soaked the start the germination process. Why would you want a seedling growing in your belly? Pre-germinated seeds have enzymes that absorb the nutrients from the soil around them.  This means un soaked seeds may actually absorb vital nutrients from your system.  If for some reason you don't have time or forgot to soak your seeds that’s okay too, just use raw un soaked sesame seeds.

For this recipe we bought organic sesame seeds (hulled and raw) from Whole Foods.  Be sure they are white because it's important later when we garnish this dish.

*TIP*-Be sure to try to buy your seeds in bulk! We saw one small container for $3.69 that was barely enough for this recipe but were able to buy the exact amount from the bulk section for $0.67!

  

If you soaked your seeds, go ahead and dump them out on a pan lined with a paper towel.  This is not as easy as it sounds as our moist seeds pretty much stick to the paper towel like white on rice.  I used a basting brush to get them off once the excess water was absorbed by the paper towel. Once the paper is removed from the equation, spread the seeds in a thin even layer on a parchment lined baking tray and pop them into the toaster oven.  A normal over will work, just be extra careful.  We put ours on 200 degrees for 12 mins and they were perfectly dry.

Once dry, add the seeds to a food processor.  We used a mini one that worked perfectly.  Then start by adding 3 tablespoons of oil (we used half Safflower and half sesame oil for added yummy sesame flavor) and a little water.  Process on high for about a min and then check your progress.  We are looking for a paste type consistency with most of the seeds broken up.  We found out rather quickly that is almost impossible to get rid of all the grains but to our surprise that made the dish even better adding a new layer of texture to the bisque.  You will most likely need to add more oil and a little more water and continue to process.  All together we ended up adding about 4 tablespoons of oil and almost as much water.  This will vary greatly so add slowly, process, and check.  It look about 6 mins of processing on high to our surprise (I didn't think it would take that long).  It should look a little like this...

Your Tahini is now complete! For this particular recipe we actually need a Tahini cream which is simply the Tahini you just made plus 1/3 cup water.  Mix the water in with the food processor until you get a consistency close to that of half and half.  If you are using store bought Tahini, simply mix in the 1/3 cup water with a spoon (or if you don't mind the cleanup use your food processor) until you get the desired constancy.  When mixing by hand this takes a while and looks kind of weird, just keep mixing until it comes together.  It WILL be grainy. 

Now let's get back to our soup.

Once the carrots are tender it's time to whip out our trusty friend, the immersion blender.  Blend the soup until smooth.  Once completley blended, be sure to follow rule #1, taste!  We needed to add more salt to ours and you may need to as well, just add a little and taste again until you reach the desired flavor.

All that is left now is the finishing touches! Be sure to keep the soup on warm as it cools rather quickly.

Once well blended, add half of the prepared Tahini cream and stir in with a ladle or spoon. DO NOT use the immersion blender to mix in the Tahini cream as this may change the soups consistency. 

Take the other half of the Tahini and split it in half once more into two small bowls.  To one of the bowls, add a pinch of the curry powder and the turmeric (1/2 teaspoon).  This is mostly for color as you will see in one second.

Now, ladle your soup portions into a bowl.  Use a spoon to take some of the still white Tahini cream and either create a line or a circle on the surface of the soup.  It should not sink but rather stay on the top as our soup is quite viscous.  Alternate between the white and turmeric colored Tahini cream to create whatever pattern your heart desires.  We created lines alternating between the two colors and then used a toothpick to "swirl" the colors together.  This was our first attempt and did not turn out as nicely as the photo on the recipe but if you cook often you will realize that goal is almost impossible to reach.  Overall it still looked pretty cool and tasted even better.

We also found out that this bisque is quite filling and hearty.  Each bite had just enough spice and the texture was perfect with the added Tahini.  

We really hope you enjoyed this first blog post on easy peasy vegetarian carrot ginger bisque! Look for more posts to follow including; vegetarian corn lasagna, easy pad Thai, apple cider doughnuts and many more!  All recipes will be indexed on the "Recipe Index" page where you can search and easily find any recipe we have reviewed or blogged about.

Until next time,

Reinvigorate your passion for flavor...

~RC

Easy Peasy

Colors blend together to create endless patterns. Smells, some familiar and some not, fill the air. Sounds of dull music, the beeping and clanging of cash registers...this is not just any trip to the grocery store.  You see, I recently made a decision that most may think rash.  The decision to become a vegetarian.  Less research then I would put into buying a new TV when into a decision that effects an entire lifestyle, but hey! It's more fun that way, right?

I make this rather harsh and very rash decision not because I one day woke up and thought that eating animal flesh is now taboo but rather in an attempt to alter my eating lifestyle.  Sure there are many ways to accomplish this, but somehow this seems the easiest.  What better way to limit what calories you eat than to cut out an entire food group? 

The driving factor behind this is actually work related. A few times a year (not nearly as often as a few years ago) I am forced to attend some mindless meeting that more often than not spans an entire week of my life.  The subject matter ranges greatly but there is one constant in this sea of endless days listening to someone I just met speak in monotones for hours upon hours.  Food. 

And food it is! Never all that great but always full of things one should not consume unless they are prepared to hit the gym after a mindless but tiring day.  Things that almost always incorporate meat.  

It's that simple really.  I wanted to limit the amount of calories I was consuming and the best way I could figure? Don't eat meat! This strategy automatically excludes 80% of whatever is being served.  Then I though about it.  Becoming vegetarian almost always has this exclusion factor whether at a restaurant, social get together, or anytime you are forced to eat away from the comforts of your kitchen. Better yet it's the perfect excuse when questioned why you are eating like a "bird" or "rabbit" as my grandmother would say.

There are many other reasons one can decide to take the vegetable based diet leap, but this is what starts my journey down the road of becoming a vegetarian. 

I'm sure this journey will require some patience and I don't have any false pretense that it will be easy or even always fun, however I hope it will re invigorate my passion for flavor and exploration.   What better way to find new and wonderful food combinations than to throw out all the recipes I already know?  Follow along if you dare, today starts a new chapter in my mostly food driven lifestyle.