Carrot and Potato Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should you cook carrots before putting them in soup? ›

While certain vegetables can work just fine added directly to simmering soups and stews (say, carrots and celery), other vegetables (onions, garlic, and the like) will almost always need at least a brief sweat in a fat-based liquid before adding the remaining ingredients.

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, carrots and garlic, sauté for 4 mins, until they are beginning to soften but not colour. Stir in the ground coriander and plenty of seasoning and cook for 1 min. Add the stock and bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 mins or until the carrots are really tender.

Not Adding Acid

If a soup is tasting bland in the bowl, consider adding acid rather than salt. A squeeze of lemon or lime, or a dash of yogurt or sour cream can add brightness to the bowl.

Cornstarch. Cornstarch is a very effective thickener, and a little bit can go a long way.

Lynn Blanchard, the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen director, agrees that scrubbing is sufficient, but there are cases when peeled carrots are best. If you want a smooth puree for a soup or baby food, then peeling would be the way to go, Blanchard says.

Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, place a cover on the pot, and simmer the mixture until the carrots are very tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove pot from heat and cool soup for 10 minutes. Puree soup with an immersion blender or mash vegetables with a potato masher and whisk the soup until smooth.

Carrots are loaded with nutrition, including fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium. And while it's true that carrots are good for eye health, their antioxidants also help protect your heart, skin, brain and immune system while reducing inflammation.

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

The simple solution to this is to add the acidic component toward the very end of cooking. You can also cook vegetables separately until they're as soft as you want them and then add them to the main pot. And look on the bright side, at least you'll never get mushy vegetables!

What vegetables can you not put in soup? ›

Foods in the Brassica family, such as collards, are too strong for stock/broth and can impart a bitter taste. Corn doesn't add a lot of flavor and can make the stock/broth cloudy.

Perhaps the simplest approach is to flavor your soup with salt throughout the cooking process. Instead of waiting until the end of cooking to realize your soup lacks taste, you can add a bit of salt during each phase of cooking. Doing so will help bring out the flavors of each of the ingredients.

Another option for thickening soup is by using dairy like sour cream or yogurt. Start with a small dollop and stir before checking the consistency and adding more. We recommend using plain yogurt so you don't alter the taste of the soup. You can also use cream if you prefer.

If potatoes are an addition to the soup recipe you are using, a good rule would be to add them about 20 minutes before you want the soup to be ready. Keep in mind that the smaller the potatoes are cut, the quicker they cook.

Boiling or steaming are the best cooking methods to achieve soft carrots. By cooking them in liquid, such as water or vegetable broth, you can infuse more flavor into the carrots and allow them to soften evenly. Avoid dry cooking methods like roasting or sautéing, as they may result in a firmer texture.

To chop carrots for soup, start by trimming off the ends and then peel them if desired. Cut the carrots into uniform pieces to ensure even cooking. You can either chop them into small cubes, thinly slice them, or even grate them depending on the texture you prefer in your soup.

Quickest: slice and boil in salted water; done in a few minutes. Best tasting: clean carrots, toss in oil and a little bit of salt. Arrange on a baking pan, put in moderately hot oven (450 f degrees or so) and allow to roast until soft. Add interesting spices if you like.