- Posts tagged winter
- Explore winter on posterous
Pasta with carrot ginger sauce
I've been posting a good deal of root vegetable recipes this month. Winter's high season for all sorts of starchy root vegetables that taste best when they're heated through, be it in soup, stew, casserole, mash, pie...
When the weather is this cold, there's nothing I want more than a good thick soup that warms my insides for hours.
When I was in Italy this fall, I had an amazing carrot ginger pasta at a macrobiotic restaurant. Below is my attempt to duplicate that dish. It can also be eaten as a soup.
Carrot ginger sauce (or soup)
4-6 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced, plus 1 whole clove
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 cups water or vegetable broth (for a thinner soup, use 4 cups)
1/4 t rosemary
1/4 t herbes de provence
salt and pepper to taste (start with 1/4 t pepper and 1 t salt)
1. Heat a 2-quart pot over medium heat. Add oil.
2. Add minced garlic (not the whole clove) and saute for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Add ginger and carrots. Cover the pot and let steam for 5 minutes, until carrots begin to soften.
4. Add water/broth and bring to a simmer. Add herbs and simmer until carrots are soft, about 15 minutes. Start cooking the pasta according to package directions.
5. Turn off the heat. Add 1 whole garlic clove and blend with an immersion blender, blender, or food processor until smooth.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta. I like to sprinkle on some gomasio for a slight sesame flavor.
Potato garlic soup
Sometimes on a cold winter day I feel like curling up on my Comfy Sack with a cup of thick soup and a book. The feeling intensifies after I've put in a full day's work, and just want to relax after fighting the traffic on the way home.
For times like that, I like to make a quick soup that doesn't require much maintenance or thought. Just cut the ingredients, throw them in the pot, wait for them to soften, add some broth, wait until it's hot, and then eat it. Done. (The dishwasher can handle the dishes.)
Below is one of those soups. All you really need are potatoes, garlic, water/broth, and salt and pepper. You can fry the garlic a little bit to bring out a little more flavor, but if you're feeling REALLY lazy, you can just smash the cloves and drop them in with the cut potatoes.
Potato garlic soup
For times like that, I like to make a quick soup that doesn't require much maintenance or thought. Just cut the ingredients, throw them in the pot, wait for them to soften, add some broth, wait until it's hot, and then eat it. Done. (The dishwasher can handle the dishes.)
Below is one of those soups. All you really need are potatoes, garlic, water/broth, and salt and pepper. You can fry the garlic a little bit to bring out a little more flavor, but if you're feeling REALLY lazy, you can just smash the cloves and drop them in with the cut potatoes.
Potato garlic soup
1/2 tsp oil
4 potatoes, diced, peeled if desired
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 quart (4 cups) vegetable broth
herbs, salt, and pepper to taste
4 potatoes, diced, peeled if desired
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 quart (4 cups) vegetable broth
herbs, salt, and pepper to taste
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a 3-quart pot or soup pot.
2. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Drop in potatoes and fry until they have some color on them, about 5 minutes. You can leave them alone and sort your mail if you like.
4. Pour in broth and herbs (rosemary works well here). Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste (and whatever other herbs and spices you like with your potatoes).
7. Turn off the heat. Get your immersion blender and blend the soup until it is smooth, or whatever consistency you like your potato soup. For me, the creamier, the better. If you want it to be perfectly smooth, you can push it through a chinois, but that defeats the purpose of a no-fuss, quick, easy soup.
8. Serve hot with some bread (cheese bread works well here).
2. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Drop in potatoes and fry until they have some color on them, about 5 minutes. You can leave them alone and sort your mail if you like.
4. Pour in broth and herbs (rosemary works well here). Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
5. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste (and whatever other herbs and spices you like with your potatoes).
7. Turn off the heat. Get your immersion blender and blend the soup until it is smooth, or whatever consistency you like your potato soup. For me, the creamier, the better. If you want it to be perfectly smooth, you can push it through a chinois, but that defeats the purpose of a no-fuss, quick, easy soup.
8. Serve hot with some bread (cheese bread works well here).
