Ginger's Good For You!

A good of friend came in the other day and started saying that she wasn't feeling that hot, like she's had a brutal headache for days and days. I asked what the deal was and she wasn't sure just that she didn't feel right and was a bit sensitive to light.

Sounded like a migraine or the verge of one to me so I started looking up things that could help with the pain. Oddly enough the first thing that popped up was ginger! I knew that it helped get rid of motion sickness but who know that this magical root was good for the soul crushing woe of the migraine.

Aside from gnawing on the root I was trying to find the fastest way to make this cure-all palatable and functional and that's when I decided to roll with a seasonal soup! Carrots and Ginger.

Remember when you were a kid and folks said that carrots were good for your eyes? Well she said that her eyes hurt and carrots help so why not kill two birds with one soup?

Here is what I rocked out...


Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 cup diced onions
* 1/2 cup diced celery
* 1/4 cup minced ginger
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
* 4 to 6 cups chicken stock
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* Chopped chives, for garnish

Method

Set a 4-quart stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the butter and olive oil to the pot. Once the butter is melted, place the onions and celery in the pot. Sweat the vegetables until the onions are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic to the pot and cook for 30 seconds. Place all of the carrots in the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are lightly caramelized and start to soften, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the stock, salt, pepper and bay leaf to the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook the soup until the carrots are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf from the pot and using an immersion blender puree the soup directly in the pot or in batches in a bar blender. Adjust the seasoning, add the heavy cream to the pot.

To serve, garnish with 1 tablespoon of sour cream per serving and a sprinkling of fresh chives.