An easy version of a classic French carrot soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbps butter
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1.5 pounds carrots*, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 medium waxy potato, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
• salt to taste
• 1-2″ piece of ginger, peeled and minced, optional
• dash of cayenne, tsp of curry powder or ginger, optional

Garnishes:

• parsley, cilantro, or chives
• Greek yogurt, sour cream, or crème fraîche

In a large soup pot, cook the carrots, onion, potato, and garlic (and the fresh ginger if you are making the carrot-ginger soup version) in the two tablespoons of butter over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the 4 cups of stock (I usually use 2 cups of stock and 2 of water, because I use my homemade stock, which is fairly concentrated) and the pepper and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes.

Remove soup from the heat and carefully puree using a stick blender, food mill, or process in batches in a blender. Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir in the heavy cream (light cream or whole milk also work well, but you should make it at least once with heavy cream!) and taste for seasonings. Add salt and additional pepper as necessary. A dash of cayenne pepper is a nice addition here as well, and if you didn’t use fresh ginger, a teaspoon of powdered ginger can be added. Sweeter curries also compliment the flavors of carrots, and adding a teaspoon or so of curry powder gives a delicious curried carrot soup. Heat and stir well to blend flavors.

Serve with chopped fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, and chives are favorites) and/or a little crème fraîche, sour cream, or Greek yogurt. A green salad and crusty French bread round out the meal. Bon Appétit!

*Note: This soup is very good with grocery store-bought carrots. However, if you can access locally grown carrots from your farmers market, they elevate the soup to divine!

Wine pairing:

My favorite wine to pair with potage Crécy is Viognier, and there are several very well-crafted Virginia Viogniers that would be wonderful with this soup. Of course, a French Viognier would be a lovely pairing and nod to the origin of the soup (Crécy is the area in France with the reputation for growing the best carrots!). The herbal and floral aromatics in really fresh carrots compliment the floral components in Viognier beautifully. Another wine I would recommend for this soup is Albariño, another aromatic variety that has its origins Spain but has been planted in Virginia as well. Cheers!

Veritas 2011 Viognier from Afton, Va. Elegant and balanced. Floral aromatics with varietal characters of apricot, pear, honeysuckle, and orange blossom.

Another Virginia Viognier from the Northern region. This wine is unctuous and decadent with tropical fruit aromatics and a rich mouthfeel.

Horton was the first to plant Viognier in Virginia and has been a champion for the variety. In 2011 Viognier was named Virginia’s state grape!

Domaine des Salices 2009 Viognier. A vin de pays from the Languedoc. A good value (retails for about $15) Viognier from France.

Recipe from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.

Coffee cake muffin with pecans and cashews.

Topping:

Mix 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 cup finely chopped nuts, 2 Tbsp melted butter

Muffins:

Mix 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp baking powder in a bowl. Add 1/2 of the topping mixture and stir to blend.

Beat together 3 Tbsp melted cooled butter, 1 cup milk, 1 egg in a separate bowl.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold to blend. Do not overmix.

Spoon into 12 well-greased muffin tins, filling about 2/3 full.

Top with the remaining brown sugar mixture.

Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes, until browned and passes the clean toothpick test.

Serve with sustainably-sourced, locally-roasted coffee.

Bon appétit!

Roasted chicken sauteed in olive oil with onion, celery, and red bell pepper. Stir in Dijon mustard and fresh herbs. Season and serve crostini-style.

Roasted red peppers and olive oil on chèvre pesto.

Napoli salumi (Olli Salumeria, VA), red and green bell peppers, and chèvre.

Cannellini beans, kale, and red pepper cooked in bacon fat and olive oil (same method as Tuscan Beans).

Radishes from the Blacksburg farmer's market served with butter and salt.

Roasted red peppers and onions on the grill.

Grilled pizza of roasted red peppers, onions, Olli Napoli Salume, Pecorino Romano, fresh basil and parsley. Dough recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma Complete Grilling Cookbook.

Paired with a 2010 Rosso Piceno.

Bok choy stir-fried with garlic, ginger, and Anaheim chili pepper.

Udon noodles tossed with toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, tamari, and chili sauce are fried in peanut oil.

Fried noodle bowl.

Paired with Gabriele Rausse Chardonnay.

This is what I do with late season tomatoes, when they've started to lose optimal flavor and texture. 225F oven for approximately 3 hours, depending on size. Salt and pepper optional.

Roasted tomatoes will keep in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for several days.

One of many versions of Tuscan beans, comprised of Cannellini beans simmered with Italian sausage (Shadowcase Farm, Giles Co.), roasted tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, sage, and therapeutic amounts of olive oil.

 

Paired with 2007 Barbaresco.

Recipe:

Soak 1 cup Cannellini beans in 5 cups water overnight. Drain and rinse, bring to boil in 5 cups unsalted water, simmer for about an hour until tender. Drain and set aside.

Cook a small amount of pork (Pancetta, Prosciutto, Italian sausage are all good choices) in a large saute pan, remove pork, leave fat. Add olive oil and  saute 1-2 Tbsp minced garlic in 3-4 Tbsp of fat over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes until fragrant.

Add chopped fresh sage and rosemary and cook for another minute or so. Add 1/2 cup or so chopped roasted tomatoes (roasted red pepper is also delicious), season with salt and pepper. Saute for another couple of minutes, being careful that the garlic doesn’t get any color.

Add Cannellini beans and pork, another 3-4 Tbsp olive oil, and season again. Stir to combine, and let simmer for several minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

Bon appétit!