Chilled Carrot-Ginger Bisque

This is not a recipe for a big pot of soup but is instead just for a few bowls or a few more first course servings. It would be easy enough to double so that you could have leftovers for lunch or take a pint to a neighbor. If you’ve a food processor, chop the carrots, onion, and apple all together. If puréeing in the pot using an immersion blender, be extra careful as the soup is quite thick and splatters easily. After a bit, I moved mine to the food processor and finished the blending there. A blender would also do the job, but keep a towel held down over the top for safety. Leave time for making the soup and several hours (or overnight is even better) for chilling.

3-4 servings or 6 first-course servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons salted butter
Small pinch crushed red pepper
1 pound medium carrots, unpeeled unless hairy/sprouting, chopped (8-10 carrots, approximately)
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
1 medium apple, cored and left unpeeled, chopped
1 small plump garlic clove
1 teaspoon kosher salt-I use Morton's
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger-plus more to taste at the end of cooking
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
½ - 1 cup heavy cream depending on desired thickness and taste
Chive flowers or minced chives for garnish

Instructions

Melt butter and crushed red pepper over medium-low flame in a 6-8 quart soup pot. Tip in carrots, onion, apple, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Stir, cover, and let cook 10-15 minutes or until everything is softening. Make sure to stir a time or two while cooking.
Add both gingers; stir. Pour in the chicken broth. Cover, raise heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered until all of the ingredients are very tender—another 15 – 20 minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, add 1/2 cup water or broth.
Remove pot from heat and purée carefully for several minutes using a handheld immersion blender or in the food processor or blender. Taste and adjust seasonings. Let cool to room temperature and whisk in ½ cup heavy cream. Taste again for seasonings, adding another teaspoon of grated fresh ginger if needed and additional cream if you’d like the soup thinner or creamier. If you'd like a really smooth bisque, pass it through a fine mesh sieve. Chill for several hours or overnight, which is even better. Taste one last time for seasoning. If too thick after chilling, whisk in a little more cream, broth, or water. Serve cold garnished with chive flowers or minced fresh chives.
Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for a day or two. Freeze the soup after cooling and without the cream for 4-6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, add cream, taste/season, and chill again for a few hours before serving.

Notes

NO CREAM? No problem. Add an extra cup of broth or water when cooking. Cool and purée; taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish and enjoy!

FOR A VEGAN/VEGETARIAN VERSION, use olive oil in place of butter, vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and soy milk in place of cream.

Would make a lovely thermos of lunch for the beach, a picnic, or hike.