Carrot Soup with Brown Butter Pecans Recipe

I was amazed at how sweet the carrots were in this yummy soup!!!

Don’t be intimidated by the number of ingredients!!

Ingredients:

1 lb carrots

4 Tbs unsalted butter, divided

1 medium white onion, chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 jalepeno, minced

2 Tbs ground sesame seeds (I ground mine in the coffee grinder!)

1 qt chicken stock (I used low salt organic) – plus possibly another cup (depends how long the carrots take to get soft – you may need to add another cup so it blends better)

kosher salt – I used fresh ground

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs plain Greek yogurt

1/3 cup crushed pecans

splash champagne (or sherry) vinegar

maple syrup – to drizzle over the top

Directions:

Peel the carrots, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

Melt 2 Tbs butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add thyme sprigs, jalepeno, sesame and carrots. Cook for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally, and then add stock and kosher salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the carrots are very tender, about 15-20 minutes. You *may* have to add a bit more broth. Remove from heat, and remove the thyme sprigs. Let cool about 10 minutes.

Puree the carrot mixture in a blender. Pour back into saucepan, and heat just a bit as it has likely cooled in the blending process. After it is heated, remove from heat, stir in 1/2 cup yogurt and add salt as needed to taste.

Melt the remaining butter in small saute pan over medium high heat. Cook until solids begin to brown. Add pecans and cook, stirring constantly, for about 90 seconds. Remove from heat, add in splash of vinegar.

Serve the soup in bowls. Top with the brown butter pecans and dollop of yogurt. Drizzle with maple syrup. Serve immediately!