Soup and Salad

After hosting a archeological-dig-murder-mystery dinner party for my dear sister D on Monday, I had an abundance of middle-eastern inspired foods to munch upon. One of the dishes was a delicious Israeli Carrot Salad that sister D discovered the recipe for while in Israel.
Today I shall share the loveliness:

Israeli Carrot Salad

4-5 carrots, grated (I used a few more)
½ yellow onion, diced
1 big handful cilantro, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
½ lime
3-4 Tbsp olive oil

Toss carrots, onion, garlic and cilantro together. Sprinkle with cumin and coriander and toss again. Squeeze lime over and pour olive oil over and toss again.

This salad is a great way to eat fresh carrots, and has a bit of spice and zing to it...perfect as it is, but perhaps even better (if that's possible!) as a soup.


Because I had gobs leftover after the party, I decided to turn it into a warm and cozy soup. To do this, I used these ingredients and steps:

Carrot Salad Soup

Leftover salad (I had about half of a normal recipe)
2 carrots, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp celery seed
1 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cans (~14oz each) chicken broth
¾ cups milk

In a medium pot over, saute carrot salad, carrots, and green onions in butter for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add celery seed, chili powder, and black pepper -saute 1 minute more. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.
Allow to cool (at this point you can freeze or refrigerate the mixture), using a hand-held blender (or working in batches with counter-top blender), puree soup until smooth. Mix in milk, and slowly warm over medium-low heat.
It's pretty delicious! And perfect for these cool Fall days. Bon Appetit!