This Carrot Ginger Soup with Coconut Shrimp was course number 3 in our epic dinner party.  (P.S.-don’t worry if you’re having a hard time following along with our dinner party menu reveal, I promise to post the entire menu in order, with links, in a few weeks. And if you just can’t wait, it was already posted on twitter so you can check it out there!).  We knew we wanted a soup course to follow our Pomegranate, Squash and Apple salad.  While we were initially dreaming up plans for our blog we had a lot of “business” lunches at Lakeshore Grill at Macy’s in Ridgedale (which has been totally redone, and if you haven’t checked it out you definitely should!).  Their summer soup was a carrot scallion soup that was so good, I would order it for lunch and then order a cup to take with me to my evening shift at work.  Looking around the internet for a soup that would be similar to this one, brought us to this Carrot Ginger Soup with Coconut Shrimp from Food and Wine.  Holly made the soup first, and interestingly enough, this soup is not really similar to the carrot scallion we loved-but it is fabulous in its own right, so fabulous that we decided to add it to our dinner party menu.  Sometimes you find exactly what you need, exactly when you need it!

I first made this soup for some friends while up at my cabin.  My friends loved it and the soup was given rave reviews.  This soup is creamy and bright, with a hint of heat that is well balanced by the coconut shrimp.  It is ridiculously simple to make and yet tastes complex.  We served our soup not only with the coconut shrimp, but also with a peanut-cilantro gremolata.  So delicious, your guests will thank you!

And if anyone has a recipe for a good Carrot Scallion soup, please let us know, we are still looking!

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Carrot Ginger Soup with Coconut Shrimp

This a simple yet elegant soup that tastes impressively complex. I personally think that the soup tastes better after sitting overnight, however it can be eaten right away if you just can't wait!

Course Soup

Author Food and Wine (contributor: Corbin Evans)

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3/4 pound carrots diced
• 1 Tablespoon ginger grated
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon asian sesame oil
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3 Tablespoons cilantro chopped
• 3 Tablespoons salted peanuts chopped
• 16-30 large shrimp peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Instructions

1. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a dutch oven until shimmering.
2. Add onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes until onion is softened.
3. Add carrots, ginger, and crushed red pepper, and sauté for 6 minutes.
4. Add chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Turn heat down and simmer the mixture for approximately 20 minutes until the carrots are tender.
6. Take dutch oven off of the heat and add in soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, peanut butter, and sesame oil.
7. Using an immersion blender (or you can transfer the soup to a conventional blender), puree soup until smooth.
8. Add skim milk and coconut milk.
9. Season to taste taste with salt and pepper.
10. You can eat the soup immediately, or refrigerate overnight and plan to eat the next day.
11. When you are ready to eat the soup, reheat if not eating immediately.
12. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
13. Thaw the shrimp if frozen.
14. Combine the shrimp with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil until lightly coated.
15. Roll shrimp in sweetened, shredded coconut.
16. Spread the shrimp on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
17. We sprinkled an additional Tablespoon of coconut onto shrimp on the baking sheet.
18. Roast in the oven at 425ºF for 5-8 minutes keeping an eye on the shrimp to ensure it it is pink but the coconut is not burning.
19. Combine the chopped cilantro and chopped peanuts to form the gremolata.
20. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with gremolata and serve with shrimp.