21 November 2010

Carrot Soup with Ginger


Another warming soup, again based on a recipe from Rose Elliot. I added lemon juice to counter the sweetness of the carrots and find that you need to add less salt. I’ve increased the ginger a little too, for my taste but if you don’t like it too warm, use just a teaspoon.

Four Servings

1 medium onion sliced
15g butter
700g carrots peeled and chopped
1 - 1½ tsp grated fresh root ginger (depending on your taste)
salt and black pepper to taste
900ml vegetable stock
squeeze of lemon juice to taste

Single cream and parsley to garnish

1.      Melt the butter in a pan over a gentle heat.
2.      Fry the onion over a low heat for 5 mins (covered) without browning then add the carrots, ginger and a shake of salt. Cover and fry for another 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Do not let the vegetables brown.
3.      Pour on the stock, bring the pan to the boil and then simmer gently for about 10-15 mins until the carrots are cooked.
4.      Blend the soup until it is smooth, then press it through a sieve
5.      Return it to the saucepan, add the lemon juice, then the salt and pepper to taste
6.      Serve in warmed bowls. Swirl the cream into each one and add the parsley to finish.


The Photograph
This time I've used the 60cm soft box above the table with the smaller 30cm soft box at 45° to the left with a polystyrene reflector below the lens to fill the shadows. There is a nice highlight of the back edge of the bowl in the top surface of the soup. Photographing soup in bowls has taught me a valuable lesson; always place the bowl on the set, then fill it carefully with a ladle. This ensures that you don't get a tidemark resulting from trying to carry the bowl to the set. If you do get the odd spot above the surface, cotton buds work wonders.

1 comment:

  1. And this was very tasty too - as good as it looks! Ally :-)

    ReplyDelete