Carrot Soup with Tahini Dollop

Hope everyone is having a happy and healthy January! For those of you doing Whole 30 or some other kind of Paleo challenge, keep up the good work. You are in the home stretch now! Unfortunately, I sprained my wrist doing a heavy front squat last week and have had to modify all my workouts. This is my first Crossfit injury ever, and it was totally my fault since I didn't accept the fact that I was failing a lift and by the time I dumped it had no strength left and hurt myself. If anything, it made be extremely grateful that we have a box that is huge on proper form and safely, and I learned I should always listen to them when they are telling me to dump a lift! Hopefully I'll get permission from the doc to lift again in another two weeks.

 

I made this soup a few weeks ago and have been craving it again ever since. Deb is basically my kitchen hero! The texture is so rich and silky that I could have easily eaten the entire batch by myself. I served it with a big side salad, but if you are like my fiance ("It's not a meal unless there is meat") you can eat this as a side dish with your protein of choice, pork would compliment well.

Ingredients

2 Tbl olive oil

2 pounds carrots, peeled, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp table salt

Pinch of red pepper flakes

4 cups vegetable broth

3 Tbl tahini paste

2 Tbl lemon juice

Pinch or two of salt

2 Tbl water

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat two tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper flakes and sauté until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes.
2. Once vegetables have begun to brown, add broth, using it to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cover pot with lid and simmer until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small dish, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, salt and water until smooth with a yogurt-like consistency.
4. Puree soup in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth. Ladle into bowls. Dollop each with lemon-tahini, and garnish with chopped parsley.

Enjoy!