Carrot Habanero Soup

Here’s the truth. I love making soups, chilis, jambalayas and other assorted simmering one-pot wonder dishes.

Ina Garten’s Tomato Basil Soup? I can practically make it my sleep by now.

Jambalaya for a crew of hungry friends after a day of skiing? Absolutely. Consider it done and done with pleasure.

Chili or a big ol’ pot of beans? Talk about the perfect comfort food.

So when the #LetsLunch bunch hosted by the lovely Miss Cheryl Tan of A Tiger in the Kitchen decided that November’s post should be fall soups, I was just as pleased as can be.

For my contribution, I made Carrot Habanero Soup from Paula Disbrowe’s Cowgirl Cuisine.

Carrot Habanero Soup with a slice of homemade bread and parano cheese

This was the third recipe I’ve made from Paula’s cookbook (see my earlier Cowgirl Cuisine adventures), and I think it’s safe to say that I really like her cookbook because this recipe was as good as the first two.

As the title says, this recipe calls for carrots and habanero. It also calls for a whole assortment of other ingredients, including a leek, onion, a sweet potato, orange juice and assorted seasonings such as ginger, cumin and a touch of honey. And when all of the ingredients were simmered to perfection, I put it through the blender to give it the creamy texture. All of it adding up to a delicious dish that was even better the second day when all of the flavors had had time to settle in with one another.

The only thing I would have changed was how I used the habanero. In the recipe, Paula advises that you can pierce the two habanero chiles and float them in the soup while it’s simmering to help provide flavor and a milder kick of heat. I did this, not because I don’t like heat, but because I had one too many teeny-tiny cuts on my fingers and no gloves to wear while chopping the chiles. I decided it was smarter to float the chiles whole rather than dice them up and get habanero chile oil embedded in the cuts on my fingers and suffer through that pain.

Next time I make this, those chiles are getting chopped up, even if it means suffering a little for a great pot of soup.

And now, as Ellise at Cowgirl Chef has suggested, I’d like to raise a glass to the #LetsLunch bunch. Our group is growing and it’s so wonderful to meet with these friends who share a love of food and good recipes – even when we’re hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away from one another.

Cheers my friends! I look forward to many more wonderful meals “together.”

Other #LetsLunch Fall Soup Posts:

A Tiger in the Kitchen – Winter Melon Soup

Bon Vivant – Carrot Soup  and Chicharonnes

Cooking in the Fruit Bowl – Apple Beer Cheese Soup

Cowgirl Chef – Potimarron Soup

Dreaming of Pots and Pans – Roasted Tomato Soup

Free Range Cookies – Oven Baked Soup

ShowFood Chef – Chard and Mushroom Soup with Fregola

(more to come as more folks post their recipes over the day or visit the #LetsLunch Twitter hashtag for the latest news)

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