carrot and rhubarb soup

One of my self-appointed goals in life, is to make rhubarb popular as a savory ingredient. Don’t get me wrong, rhubarb is amazing in desserts and I love a good rhubarb pie and crisp with fresh strawberries (and other berries) but it is also a wonderful addition to savory dishes. It’s high in acid which helps it contribute a touch of sourness to several dishes. This year with all the crazy moving, I didn’t get to cook a lot with rhubarb, so I figured before the warm season leaves us, I should make you one special dish that would be bold, bright and colorful!

This is really a very simple recipe, a few ingredients with a few steps. Prepping the carrots and rhubarb is probably what takes the most of amount of work, after that it is pretty much a matter of “dumping” things together to make it all come together. 

I started off this soup by oven roasting the rhubarb and carrots together and blended them to form one thick and creamy soup. I have a batch of purple basil growing in my container garden whose flowers I normally just pick off and toss into salads, they made a nice colorful contrast against the bright orange color of the soup. Of course you can garnish this soup with any of your favorite ingredients, so play around and keep it colorful!

carrot and rhubarb soup

yields: 4 – 6 servings

ingredients

3 to 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup rhubarb stalk, diced 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tsp black peppercorns

4 cloves

1 teaspoon kosher sea salt 

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

4 cups low sodium vegetable stock

1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (or any other sauce you like, you can also leave it out)

a few fresh purple basil flowers, to garnish (optional)

1. Place a wire rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F.  Toss the carrots, rhubarb, olive oil, black peppercorns, and cloves together in a large mixing bowl and spread them out on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer the contents to a large stock pot. 

2. Add the turmeric and stock to the vegetables and bring to a boil on a medium high flame. Remove from stove and then using an immersion blender, blend all the ingredients together until completely smooth (alternatively, use a blender and blend the soup in batches until smooth). Return the stockpot to the stove and cook for another 15-20 minutes on a medium-low flame. Stir in the sriracha sauce. Taste and adjust the amount of salt if necessary. Stir occasionally during cooking, serve hot and garnish with fresh basil flowers.