To get ready for the High Holidays this year, the PJ Library team is sharing recipes from our own families and kitchens – a simple and beautiful way to feel connected to our partners and subscribers and to share the memories that make our own Rosh Hashanah memories so sweet.
This recipe for a delicious carrot soup with pomegranate syrup is from Jessica, PJ Library’s director of family experience. She writes:
“My mom doesn't like tzimmes (I mean, she really doesn't like it), and I wanted to find a reliable way to incorporate sweet carrot dishes into my Rosh Hashanah and Pesach feasts. At Pesach I perfected a carrot souffle with a sweet nut topping, but the real winner is this Rosh Hashanah soup--savory but also just the right amount sweet--adapted from an old LA Times recipe. It doubles, triples, and even quadruples easily if you have a big enough pot (we have big gatherings!), and my time-saving tip is to just use baby carrots if you're in a hurry...no need to peel and chop! Now? My carrot recipes are my mother's favorite holiday traditions.”
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups coarsely chopped onion (about 1 large onion)
- 4 cups baby carrots or coarsely chopped, peeled carrots
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, plus extra for garnish*
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups vegetable stock/broth
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pomegranate seeds for garnish, optional
- *TIP: Pomegranate molasses can be purchased at Middle Eastern and Kosher markets or in the international aisle of your local grocery or natural foods store. You can also make it by boiling 100% pomegranate juice down to syrup.
Preparation:
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onions, carrots, pomegranate molasses, and cumin. Cover the pot and lower the heat.
- Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 3 cups of stock and simmer, covered, until the carrots are very tender, about an hour. Take off the heat and let cool.
- Using an immersion blender or working in batches in a food processor or blender, puree the soup in batches, adding in the last cup of stock. You want it very smooth.
- Return to the burner and heat through until hot. Season with salt and pepper.
- Ladle the soup into soup plates, spooning extra pomegranate molasses around the center (about ½ teaspoon per bowl). Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, if using, and serve immediately.
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