Ofri Gilan
Fear the candy, not the cleanse!
Post-Halloween sugar overload must be addressed! Cleansing your body doesn’t have to be tough extreme starvation. Sometimes all it takes to re-balance our sugar levels is soup. Soup is also the best thing to help us transition into winter. Like a good, old friend you can rely on at the end of a long work day, it’s your little corner of comfort, keeping you full and satisfied with maximum nutrition and few calories.
Last week I went to Land’s Sake, a beautiful farm in Weston, to film a video. It is such a great farm, so close, so picturesque, such great produce and honey! It’s heavenly. So, yes, back to last week, they had an “end of the season” sale–so sad to see them go–and I got a big bag of sweet, shiny, organic carrots for a great price.
I would like you to keep on reading, so I will avoid being too tedious with all the details. BUT, there is so much to be said about the nutritional benefits of carrots, especially when eaten seasonally, cooked rather than raw. Carrot season is ending and chestnut season is starting, so we meet at this crossroad to help us transition into winter. Add some ginger and your warmth is guaranteed
This Carrot Soup recipe is largely enhanced by roasted chestnuts; they add creaminess and sweetness without dairy or sugar. Raisins help sweeten it too, of course.
Start by cutting the carrots into large chunks and roast under the broiler for 10 minutes–this will caramelize the carrots. In the meantime, slice the white part of the leek and sauté it in butter or olive oil. When it softens up, add the ginger, celery root, raisins, roasted carrots and stock. The liquid and vegetables should be at the same height, so add some more water or stock as needed. Add sea salt and thyme, cook covered until it softens. After about half an hour, uncover, add peeled chestnuts and puree everything together until smooth with an immersion blender. For crunch, garnish and extra flavor add toasted sliced almonds.
Another thing I like doing is to store the soup in pint-size Mason jars, although it can easily keep for 5-6 days in the fridge, it is nice to make a big batch and freeze it. Each jar will give you one large serving. It is a quick, healthy, and readily available meal. Keep a jar of homemade soup available in the fridge at home or work.
Roasted Carrots and Chestnut Soup
1 leek, white part only, washed thoroughly
2.5 lb carrots, peeled
½ celery root, peeled and cubed
2 cups stock
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
½ cup raisins
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
a few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
2 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
8oz. chestnuts, peeled and roasted
Sliced almonds, toasted (for garnish)
Watch a video about Ofri here:
http://www.youtube.com/feed/watch_later