Five-Spice Carrot Soup with Gingery Snap Peas Recipe

Five-Spice Carrot Soup with Gingery Snap Peas recipe from Gourmet with an Asian twist.

Ingredients

1 1-inch knob peeled fresh ginger or 3 1/2 tablespoons chopped ginger

1 pound onions, peeled and quartered

3 1/2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

1 1/2 pounds baby carrots

7 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pound snap peas or snow peas, ends snapped and strings removed

2 tablespoons rice wine or sake

Instructions

1. In a blender or a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse to finely chop the ginger. Add the onions and continue pulsing until coarsely chopped.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat until hot. Add about 1 tablespoon of the chopped ginger and the onions and stir-fry for about 15 seconds, until very fragrant. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onions are transparent. Add the carrots and broth and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until the carrots are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Using a Chinese wire strainer, remove the carrots from the broth and place in a bowl to cool slightly. Working in batches, puree the carrots in the food processor or blender until smooth, adding 1/2 cup of the broth to each batch. Return the pureed carrots and broth to the pot and reheat, seasoning with the five-spice powder, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper.

4. While the soup is reheating, heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil over high heat in a heavy skillet or wok. When hot, add the snow or snap peas, the remaining chopped ginger, the rice wine and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until the peas are crisp-tender, and remove to a plate. To serve, either stir the peas into the carrot soup or ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle the peas on top. Serve hot.

VARIATION: Substitute 1 teaspoon ground cumin or 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste) for the five-spice powder.

Recipe excerpted from “Simple Asian Meals” by Nina Simonds (Rodale Books, $29.99).

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