Carrot Soup

By: Nick Stellino


  • Yield: 6 Servings
  • Cuisine: American
  • Course: Soup


Ingredients

  • 1/4 pound Bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 White Onion, chopped
  • 8 Garlic Cloves, thickly sliced
  • 2 pounds Carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • 1/2 teaspoon Thyme, dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1/2 cup Sherry, Port, or Marsala
  • 3/4 cup Sour Cream
  • 6 small bunches Fennel, fresh, cut into small pieces, used as decoration

Directions

  1. In a stockpot, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the bacon and cook until well brown, stirring well about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate linked with a paper towel and set aside.
  3. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, thyme, and red pepper flakes to the pot and continue to cook over medium-high heat stirring well until the onion begins to soften, about 3-4 minutes.
  4. Add the wine, bring to a boil and stir well to dislodge the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is reduced by 1/2, about 3 minutes.
  5. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 40-45 minutes stirring well every 15 minutes.
  6. Add the soup, in batches, into a food processor and process it to smooth cream-like consistency. Place the soup back in the stock pot and keep warm.
  7. Serve the soup in bowls and decorate the top of each bowl with a light drizzle of sour cream, pieces of fresh fennel and pieces of browned bacon.
  8. Chef's Tip: For a more elegant finish, using a squirt bottle, decorate top of each bowl of soup with concentric circles of sour cream, then score it at equal intervals with the top of a paring knife's blade, moving from the outside circle inward, toward the inside circle. It will create a very elegant design.