Moroccan Carrot Soup

This is my favorite soup recipe. Ever. I discovered it in Vegetarian Times when I was a vegetarian and living in Boulder, CO (fitting, I know). But more than anything, this soup reminds me of snowy afternoons in Boston. A whole pot would feed me for a good five days. As a graduate student, I’d stock up on bread, butter, greens, coffee and milk, plenty of tea, and a chocolate bar and I could hibernate for quite some time. The smell of the fennel seeds cooking in olive oil brings me right back to my pink-tiled Brookline kitchen. I’d sit at the bay windows, looking out at elderly Russian women in vibrant silk scarves pushing their shopping carts back from the corner grocery store, and college kids with backpacks and arms of books racing to catch the bus. I’ll always equate the smell of this soup with that light-filled pink kitchen, fallen leaves whipping by the windows, and the fading Eastern afternoon light.

This soup is extremely easy. Essentially, you just simmer all of the ingredients in vegetable broth and process with an immersion blender or food processor at the very end. I like to serve it with warm whole-wheat pita, goat cheese or brie (Cowgirl Creamery’s triple cream is my new favorite), olives, and a little prosciutto.


Moroccan Carrot Soup

Moroccan Carrot Soup

  • Yield: 6
  • Prep time: 15 mins
  • Cook time: 35 mins
  • Total time: 50 mins

Adapted from: Vegetarian Times

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 1/4 lbs. carrot, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 large or 2 medium)
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
6 cups cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbsp. long grain white rice
1/4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. coriander
1 bay leaf
Fresh lemon juice
Flat-leaf parsley sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add fennel seeds and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1-2  minutes. Next, add sweet potatoes, carrots, and apple and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Add broth, rice, curry powder, coriander, and bay leaf.

After all of the ingredients have been added, bring mixture to a very low boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are just tender, about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf and puree soup in batches in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Add lemon juice, salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley.

Comments

  1. El

    I love how rich and creamy this soup looks. Perfect for autumn!

  2. Chez Danisse

    I love the story and your soup recipe looks quite tasty.

  3. Sophie

    A true tasty soup!!

    Looks very pretty too! MMMMMMMMM,...

  4. Mardi @eatlivetravelwrite

    Ummm... can I come over to dinner? Like RIGHT NOW? That looks like my idea of a perfect meal and I can totally relate to your "hibernation" grocery list - sounds similar to mine when I was a poor teacher in Paris!!! I'll be making this soup soon.

  5. Jamie

    Our favorite soup is a wonderful Moroccan harira (lamb and chickpeas) so I'll bet this soup is fabulous and I must try it! Simple is often the tastiest!

  6. Anne

    Totally going to try this soup. Thank you. I also loved visiting your place in Boston just now. Thanks for taking me there to hibernate for a minute.

  7. Ellie

    Making this now. A perfect soup for a cold rainy fall day in PA

  8. Sheri

    I tried it and it's very good--very rich. It will be a nice addition to our Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing it!

  9. Lauren

    Can't wait to make try this recipe for dinner this week!

  10. Nakita

    I made this soup and the taste was good but the consistency was watery (or rather, it was not hearty looking like the picture). I followed the recipe exactly but it wasn't like the picture. Maybe too much liquid? Or should the lid be tilted to let some of the liquid evaporate out?

    1. megang

      Hi Nakita. Gosh, I'm so sorry the soup turned out a touch watery for you. I usually have the opposite problem, actually, so I'm surprised to hear. Yes, next time: uncover it a little to let some of the moisture cook off. I think this would help you. And perhaps use a bit less cooking liquid, too. Let me know how it turns out. Enjoy your week! ~mg

  11. Anne

    Your first paragraph sent me back to my youth. I now live on the West Coast and the description of fading Eastern light, well, there is nothing quite like it. Occasionally we will have a particularly grey day and the light will look similar, but never quite comes close to the dim tone bouncing off industrial brick. Weird, isn't it? How can someone miss light?

    But only one chocolate bar?

  12. Kathy

    Another winner! However, I think my effort would have been even better if the curry I used was not that which my husband brought into our marriage 17 years ago; lord knows how long he had it before then :). Some day I'll convince him that a Costco oregano, just because it was cheaper by volume, isn't necessarily a great deal with respect to flavor.

    Love that this soup is so creamy with no cream!

Join the Discussion

Healthy Comfort Food

Thai Carrot, Coconut and Cauliflower Soup

Thai Carrot, Coconut and Cauliflower Soup

People describe raising young kids as a particular season in life. I hadn't heard this until we had a baby, but it brought me a lot of comfort when I'd start to let my mind wander, late at night between feedings, to fears that we'd never travel internationally again or have a sit-down meal in our dining room. Would I ever eat a cardamom bun in Sweden? Soak in Iceland? I loved the heck out of our tiny Oliver, but man what had we done?! Friends would swoop in and reassure us that this was just a season, a blip in the big picture of it all. They promised we'd likely not even remember walking around the house in circles singing made-up songs while eating freezer burritos at odd hours of the day (or night). And it's true.

Oliver is turning two next month, and those all-encompassing baby days feel like a different time, a different Us. In many ways, dare I say it, Toddlerhood actually feels a bit harder. Lately Oliver has become extremely opinionated about what he will and will not wear -- and he enforces these opinions with fervor. Don't get near the kid with a button-down shirt. This week at least. He's obsessed with his rain boots and if it were up to him, he'd keep them on at all times, especially during meals. He insists on ketchup with everything (I created a damn monster), has learned the word "trash" and insists on throwing found items away on his own that really, truly are not trash. I came to pick him up from daycare the other day and he was randomly wearing a bike helmet -- his teacher mentioned he'd had it on most of the day and really, really didn't want to take it off. The kid has FEELINGS. I love that about him, and wouldn't want it any other way. But, man it's also exhausting.

Read More
Cheesy Quinoa Cauliflower Bake

Cheesy Quinoa Cauliflower Bake

I just finished washing out Oliver's lunchbox and laying it out to dry for the weekend. My favorite time of day is (finally) here: the quiet of the evening when I can actually talk to Sam about our day or sit and reflect on my own thoughts after the inevitable dance party or band practice that precedes the bedtime routine lately. Before becoming pregnant for the second time, I'd have had a glass of wine with the back door propped open right about now -- these days though, I have sparkling water or occasionally take a sip from one of Sam's hard ciders. Except now the back door's closed and we even turned on the heat for the first time yesterday. The racing to water the lawn and clean the grill have been replaced by cozier dinners at home and longer baths in the evening. You blink and it's the first day of fall. 

Read More
Stuffed Shells with Fennel and Radicchio

Stuffed Shells with Fennel and Radicchio

I'd heard from many friends that buying a house wasn't for the faint of heart. But I always shrugged it off, figuring I probably kept better files or was more organized and, really, how hard could it be? Well, I've started (and stopped) writing this post a good fifteen times which may indicate something. BUT! First thing's first: we bought a house! I think! I'm pretty sure! We're still waiting for some tax transcripts to come through and barring any hiccough with that, we'll be moving out of our beloved craftsman in a few weeks and down the block to a great, brick Tudor house that we wanted the second we laid eyes on it. The only problem: it seemed everyone else in Seattle had also laid eyes on it, and wanted it equally as much. I'm not really sure why the homeowner chose us in the end. Our offer actually wasn't the highest, but apparently there were some issues with a few of them. We wrote a letter introducing ourselves and describing why we'd be the best candidates and why we were so drawn to the house; we have a really wonderful broker who pulled out all the stops, and after sifting through 10 offers and spending a number of hours deliberating, they ended up going with ours. We were at a friend's book event at the time when Sam showed me the text from our broker and I kind of just collapsed into his arms. We were both in ecstatic denial (wait, is this real?! Did we just buy a house?) and celebrated by getting chicken salad and potato salad from the neighborhood grocery store and eating it, dazed, on our living room floor. Potato salad never tasted so good. 

Read More
Smoky Butternut Squash and Three Bean Chili

Smoky Butternut Squash and Three Bean Chili

If your house is anything like ours, last week wasn't our most inspired in terms of cooking. We're all suffering from the post-election blues -- the sole upside being Oliver's decision to sleep-in until 7 am for the first time in many, many months; I think he's trying to tell us that pulling the covers over our heads and hibernating for awhile is ok. It's half-convincing. For much of the week, instead of cooking, there'd been takeout pizza and canned soup before, at week's end, I decided it was time to pour a glass of wine and get back into the kitchen. I was craving something hearty and comforting that we could eat for a few days. Something that wouldn't remind me too much of Thanksgiving because, frankly, I can't quite gather the steam to start planning for that yet. It was time for a big bowl of chili.

Read More
To Talk Porridge

To Talk Porridge

Porridge is not the sexiest of breakfasts, it's true. It doesn't have a stylish name like strata or shakshuka, and it doesn't have perfectly domed tops like your favorite fruity muffin. It doesn't crumble into delightful bits like a good scone nor does it fall into buttery shards like a well-made croissant. But when you wake up and it's 17 degrees outside (as it has been, give or take a few, for the last week), there's nothing that satisfies like a bowl of porridge or oatmeal. It's warm and hearty and can be made sweet or savory with any number of toppings. The problem? Over the years, it's gotten a bad rap as gluey or gummy or just downright boring or dutiful -- and it's because not everyone knows the secrets to making a great pot of warm morning cereal. So let's talk porridge (also: my cookbook comes out this month! So let's take a peek inside, shall we?)

Read More