"Cream" of Carrot Soup

Check out the size of this sweet potato!

You wouldn't know it by glancing at the smooth, thick consistency of this soup, but there isn't actually any cream in here. The creamy consistency comes from sweet potato, which I used in place of heavy cream and milk in the original recipe. My inspiration for this soup came from the Hunger Games. As I mentioned in a previous post, I finished reading the trilogy and loved every word of it. One of my favorite parts of the books was the detail in which the food was discussed. The food was described with such depth, that it made me think about recreating the dishes myself. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed, since there was an article on Huffington Post with links to recipes similar to those described in the books. Following the link I found a delicious sounding carrot soup. I made some vegan substitutions and scaled down the water. Like I said before, the creaminess came from a sweet potato. A very large sweet potato. Seriously, I didn't think any sweet potato could get that big, let alone an organic one. It must have been about 4 cups once it was peeled and chopped. It did the trick though. The result: a comforting, filling soup that we can't get enough of.

"Cream" of Carrot Soup

Serves at least 6

• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 lbs. of carrots, sliced
• 1 extra large sweet potato, cubed
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 7 scallions, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

1. In a large pot, sauté the onions until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the carrots and sweet potato, followed by the vegetable broth and water. Add more water to just cover the potatoes and carrots if needed.
3. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. Uncover, lower the heat, and allow the soup to simmer until the carrots and potatoes are tender. About 30 minutes.
5. Add the white and pale green parts of the scallions and simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and blend until smooth.
7. Add the poppy seeds and stir until combined.
8. Serve, and garnish with the rest of the scallions and a sprinkling on poppy seeds.