The Magic of Soup (Creamy Carrot and Cumin Puree)

I think I should write a book.  

The title of my book would be "The Magic of Soup", and it's the tale of a persnickety young boy who seemingly detests the beautiful, seasonal vegetables his mother places before him each night at dinner.  

He wriggles and whines, complains and cajoles and takes far too long to finish all of his meals.  

One day his brilliant mother decides that instead of fighting him about his vegetables, she's going to turn each of the ground-grown foods he bellyaches about into a pureed soup.  She will entice him to try it by adding a few toasted croutons, or some crumbled cheese, to the top of the bowl, and he will be wooed to at least sample what's she offering because it looks too good to pass up.  

He will sip and slurp, and decide that this new food she's making is some of the best he's tasted.  And he will ask her to prepare foods like this for every meal. She feigns surprise at his sudden approval of her provisions, all the while giggling inside because she knows she's actually been giving him even more veggies than he was originally eating.  They've just been disguised in a bowl of the creamy goodness she's placed before him.

Of course, this story has a happy ending. The mother decides to take the opportunity to feed her boy as many soups as she can, especially since he's enjoying them so much.  And the boy? Well, he feels strong and full, and grateful that his mother has decided to stop feeding him those horrid veggies.  

The end.

Creamy Carrot and Cumin Puree (with no cream)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 5 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3 tablespoons arborio rice
• 4 cups chicken or veggie stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta

Heat the oil in a large pot, set over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, celery and carrots and sautee until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add the salt, cumin and rice and sautee for an additional two minutes, or until the veggies are slightly browned and fragrant.

Add the stock and the water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.  Cover and let simmer for approximately one hour. 

Remove from the stove and allow to cool.  Puree using an immersion blender.  Serve with crumbled feta and fresh ground pepper.

 

Comments

[Ron Strople]

Brilliant jan and so very well written.

[May Stepanek]

What a "souperb" story! love it.
Your soup looks great, we'll have to try it :)

[Cheryl Arkison]

Lucky you! If only mine ate soup...

[Wanda Thorne]

LOL Thanks Jan - that was a fun read to end my day.
I recently discovered that my 4 yr old kid #2 will eat soup if it's 'noodle sauce'. Go figure... this one looks great, I need to try it!

[Jan Scott]

Arent kids just so funny!

[Jan Scott]

Thanks, May :)

[Veronica Gonzalez Smith]

Wow, this looks simply delishhhh. I have lots of carrots in my fridge. Need to get some cumin, celery, and feta and I'm all over this recipe. Thanks for sharing.