Creamy Carrot Soup

I know I said I wouldn't be blogging this week due to my masters comprehensive exams, however I just cannot wait to tell the world about the soup I made this past Sunday! I just cannot help myself. I'm not going to even humblebrag about it, I'm just going to straight up brag about it. You know when you go to restaurants and you get the creamy soup of the day and it's just so perfectly light and thick and satisfying? Well Will found a recipe for that kind of soup. The "soup special of the day" perfect restaurant soup. And I'm not even a soup person, but I loved it. L-O-V-E-D it. I have not been able to stop thinking about it all week, which usually means it was pretty damn good. We've actually been eating soups all week (including a beef stew and a leek soup that Courtney made and brought over), but this soup is probably the best soup I've ever had. So perfect.
How does one create the perfect soup?  It's surprisingly simple and pretty foolproof, since I managed to pull it together without too much help from Will. The final texture of the soup can best be described as "velvety," which encompasses the soft, light texture with the creamy flavor. The soup is perfectly balanced by the slightly crunchy roasted chickpeas and is mildly cooled from the creme fraiche (aka light cour cream, in our case). It is just a really beautiful soup to both look at and eat. The bright orange color is extremely powerful and would look impressive to serve on any occasion.

Cooking Notes: I pretty much followed the directions to a "t." I interpreted "a knob of butter" to be about 3 tbsp. I also used our Better Than Bouillon instead of a stock cube, like the recipe called for. And we didn't have/want to make any creme fraiche like the recipe calls for, so we just used a dollop of sour cream each! And lastly, it suggests using thyme, coriander or basil for the chickpeas, so I chose dried basil.

Creamy Carrot Soup (adapted from Shape Me Up; serves 4)
1 large onion
5 large carrots
4 large garlic cloves
A knob of butter (I used about 3 tbsp)
1 serving stock per 8 oz. water
S&P
Sour cream
16 oz. chick peas
Olive oil
Dried basil, for sprinkling

Begin to melt butter in a small pot. Chop the onion and garlic roughly and put it in the pot. Then chop the carrot and add it to the pot. Let this heat for a couple of minutes. Add 500ml of water (2 cups), the stock, and fresh ground S&P. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat slightly and let it simmer until the carrots are soft, about 8-10 minutes.

Once the soup begins simmering, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. If using canned chickpeas, drain the can before spreading on a baking sheet. If using crockpot chickpeas, just place on a baking sheet. Drizzle a little oil, salt, and dried basil over the chickpeas, stirring everything to season evenly. When oven is heated, place baking sheet in and toast chickpeas until golden, about 10-15 minutes.

Once the soup is done simmering, remove from heat and allow a few minutes to cool. Then place the soup in a blender, mixing it until it is smooth but not runny. Add one extra clove of garlic and blend some more. Pour mixture back into pot to keep warm until chickpeas are done. Serve with sour cream and sprinkle toasted chick peas on top. Enjoy immensely!

Recipe: Shape Me Up: Carrot Soup