Soup's On: Easy Carrot Soup with a Dill n' Yogurt Swirl

Fun Fact: Cooked carrots supposedly provide more nutrients than raw carrots (credit: Natasha).

A few weekends ago, I was dining at Pizzaiolo Restaurant in Oakland and ordered a carrot soup. My goodness, this was the most perfect way to start my meal. This utterly irresistible bowl of soup arrived at the table and my only job was to eat, savor, enjoy. And that I did.

The soup had a tangy tone that took it to the next level. I later discovered the secret gem that made the soup so "tangy:" lemongrass. Oh, and the soup had this dilled yogurt sauce swirled into it, which provided a beautiful medley of color and flavor.

I've been dreaming about this soup ever since, and as I was flipping through Cooking Light Magazine the other day, I saw a recipe for a simple carrot soup that I just had to make. This soup is not only satisfying but is also very low in calories and fat (yay).

By the way, if you have not already seen this, you should check out thisiswhyyourefat! Delicious and totally gross.

Cooking Light's recipe uses a touch of sesame oil which "lends depth to this velvety soup". Joining the carrots are shallots and ginger, giving the soup a nice sweet and spicy punch.


The magazine pairs this soup as a part of an Easter brunch menu: carrot soup, Parmesan thyme rolls, champagne cocktails, asparagus and spring greens salad with Gorgonzola vinaigrette, and deviled eggs with smoked salmon.

I used dill instead of mint as my herb garnish, but any fresh herb should go nicely. I also chose to top my soup with some cubed avocado.

Carrot Soup with a Yogurt Swirl

Yield: (supposedly) 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup soup, 1 tablespoon yogurt, and 1 mint sprig)

***NOTE: This soup barely served 4 in my house

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
• 1/3 cup sliced shallots (about 1 large)
• 1 pound (baby) carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup 2% Greek-style plain yogurt
• 8 fresh mint sprigs

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots to pan; cook 2 minutes or until almost tender, stirring occasionally. Add carrots; cook 4 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 22 minutes or until tender. Add ginger; cook 8 minutes or until carrots are very tender. **NOTE: I had to add a LOT more broth than the recipe calls for. Cover and let stand 5 minutes at room temperature.

2. Pour half of carrot mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining carrot mixture. Return pureed soup to pan; heat over medium heat 2 minutes or until heated.

3. Spoon soup into small bowls, and top with plain yogurt and fresh mint sprigs.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 47

Fat: 1.6g (sat 0.4g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.5g)

Protein: 2.2g

Carbohydrate: 6.5g

Fiber: 1.7g

Cholesterol: 1mg

Iron: 0.6mg

Sodium: 163mg

Calcium: 36mg

I Ate my Final Project: Cooking up Change Competition 2010

One of the perks of being a nutritional science-dietetics major is...well, food. Finally, after suffering through chemistry and biology and biochemistry and physiology...finally I get to take classes that are more "fun."

Food Science, Food Systems Organization and Management, Human Food Practices, Nutrition in the Community...

For my final project in my food management class, I teamed up with my classmates Julia and Maggie to cook up a storm so that we can enter the Cooking up Change Competition 2010.


Cooking up Change is a contest in which teams of college students from across the nation compete to design a healthy school lunch.

We had to submit a recipe, a report on the nutritional content of that recipe, and photos of the team during various stages of the process. A judging panel of culinary professionals will evaluate our recipe on format and clarity, originality of the dish, and cohesiveness of the ingredients. We were instructed to present one entree and two accompanying side dishes that follow their strict ingredient list and nutritional requirements. And if we win, we get to go to Detroit to compete in round 2!

So, what's on the menu?

Entree: Rainbow Rotini: multi-grain rotini pasta, fresh spinach, tomato, summer squash ribbons, basil ribbons, and chicken

Side #1: Cheesy Basil and Garlic Toasts: rustic whole grain bread loaves, broiled until bubbly with cheese, topped with basil ribbons and garlic

Side #2: Fresh Fruit Salad: chopped apples, sliced bananas, raisins, cinnamon, and fresh squeezed lemon juice

Our recipes had to have six steps or less and our meal had to meet certain nutritional requirements:

Calories 750-850 calories
Fat Less than 35% of calories from fat
Less than 10% of calories from saturated fat
Zero trans fat
Protein 2.0 oz – 2.4 oz protein
Fiber 10.7 grams or more
Grains 2.4 oz – 2.6 oz grains
At least half must be whole grains
Fruits and Vegetables 1 cup vegetables, 1⁄2 of which must be either dark green or orange
vegetables.
1 cup of fruit (not juice)
No starchy vegetables (i.e., potatoes, corn or peas)
Sodium Less than 1000 mg

After futzing around and thinking out load, we were able to adjust our meal to meet the requirements.

My team entered the competition because, firstly, cooking is WAY better than, well, anything. Second, we wanted to find a way to incorporate local ingredients and fresh, tasty, colorful meals for (college) student lunches.

Here are some photos documenting our adventures in the kitchen...

Fresh tomatoes, diced

Fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

Julia is so happy surrounded by colorful veggies!

Stir stir stir!

Chop that chicken, Maggie!


Ah, the finished product!


And now...LET'S EAT!

Rainbow Rotini

This recipe has so much great color and texture to it! Mmm

Ingredients

1 lb. Multigrain Rotini Pasta

5 cups fresh spinach, chopped

3 yellow summer squash, peeled into ribbons

3 fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 bunch of fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 lb chicken breast, cubed

salt, black pepper, garlic powder

Directions

1. Boil a large pot of water. Add the pasta.
2. When pasta is almost done, add the spinach and squash ribbons. Let cook until all components are cooked (about 2-3 minutes more).
3. Drain the pasta/vegetable mixture.
4. Sauté chicken in 1 Tablespoon of oil until no longer pink inside.
5. Add the cooked chicken, tomato, and basil to the pasta. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Cheesy Basil and Garlic Toasts

Note: Having a broiler made this go very fast and it browned our toasts to perfection. If you do not own a broiler, you can use a toaster oven or just a normal oven at high temp.

Ingredients

1 loaf of whole grain bread, cut into slices

3 Tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

12 slices jack cheese

1 bunch fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons

Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler.
2. Brush bread with oil.
3. Sprinkle with black pepper and garlic powder.
4. Place one slice of cheese on each slice of bread.
5. Place bread on a sheet tray and broil for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
6. Take the toasts out of the broiler and sprinkle with fresh basil ribbons.

Fresh Fruit Salad

Ingredients

1 apple, chopped

1 banana, sliced

¼ cup raisins

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine fruit and raisins in a bowl.
2. Pour the lemon juice over the fruit.
3. Add the cinnamon.

Roasted Eggplant Spread on Crostini

Fun Fact: An eggplant is actually a berry.

I know, sounds crazy, right? Typically thought of as a vegetable, the eggplant really is just a large bulbous purple berry.

Now don’t get me wrong, I probably would not mix this kind of berry in with my cereal…but I definitely would roast it in the oven and puree it with some tomatoes, roasted garlic, onions, and lemon juice and then spread it on crostini. Ooo la la finger food!!

Roasting the eggplant whole is easy. Are you ready? Take the eggplant, plop it on a sheet tray as is (no oil needed), put it in the oven at 350°F, and in about 60-75 minutes you’ve got one soft and roasted berry!

Next. Roasted garlic. Yes. Chop the end off a head of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in foil. Bake for an hour (any temp. from 350-450°F will do).

These two ingredients—roasted eggplant and garlic—make this sumptuous eggplant spread sing on the toasted baguette!

Finger food is just too fun! Who needs forks and knives: the phalanges are our natural utensils!!

Once again, I made this for my 60-person co-op and multiplied the recipe by 8. Touché!

Roasted Eggplant Spread on Crostini
Adapted from Goodthingscatered

Makes about 30 slices

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
2 tomatoes, chopped and peeled
1/2 medium red onion (feel free to use white onion or shallots)
Roasted garlic (use about half a head, maybe the whole thing if your feelin’ good!)
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for crostini
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 baguette, preferably sourdough, sliced
2 scallions, white and light green portion thinly sliced

optional:
1/4 c. cilantro
1/4 c. pitted kalmata olives

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and place eggplant on a lined baking sheet.

2. Place baking sheet into oven and roast until eggplant looks wilted and skin is easily pieced with a fork, about 60-75 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cut off the tip of the head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil. Throw this in the oven with the eggplant (It will take approximately the same time to cook as the eggplant).

4. Remove eggplant and garlic from oven and cool completely. If you prefer, peel the eggplant. If not, go for the rustic feel and leave the peel on.

5. In the bowl of food processor, combine tomato, red onion, garlic and olive oil. Pulse to process until well combined.

6. Add eggplant (cilantro, olives), lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pulse until ingredients are roughly chopped to the consistency of a salsa (about 4-5 pulses) and set aside.

7. Preheat oven to 450°F and place baguette slices onto baking sheet. Brush each slice lightly with olive oil.

8. Place baking sheet into oven and bake until edges are lightly golden, about 10 minutes.

9. Remove from oven, place a spoonful of eggplant spread onto each slice and place on serving platter.

10. Top with sliced scallions and serve. FINGER FOOD!! Woo hoo!